This article is also available in Spanish.
As attention turns to altcoins, bitcoin (btc) has seen a pause in the bullish trend that characterized last month. Currently trading 3.8% below its all-time high of $99,540, questions are being raised about the sustainability of this growth and the possibility of a correction as the year draws to a close.
Investors flock to ethereum and XRP
Chris Newhouse, director of research at Cumberland Labs, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-12-02/bitcoin-s-quest-for-100-000-runs-into-wall-of-resistance?utm_medium=social&utm_content=crypto&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=socialflow-organic” target=”_blank” rel=”nofollow”>pointed out that while strong institutional buying pressure persists (particularly from companies like MicroStrategy, which continues to accumulate bitcoin), there is a notable shift in capital flows.
Newhouse noted that the broader crypto ecosystem is experiencing a “diversification of capital flows” from both institutional and non-institutional participants.
This diversification indicates that as bitcoin stabilizes, investor interest is increasingly shifting towards other digital assets, including ethereum (eth) and XRP, which were previously lagging behind bitcoin.
Related reading
Following the victory of President-elect Donald Trump, who has become an advocate of cryptocurrencies, expectations for more favorable US regulations have increased. This has contributed to the massive demonstration in the XRP pricewhich has experienced an increase of 400% in the monthly period.
This optimism is also reflected in the record monthly net inflows into bitcoin and ethereum. exchange traded funds (ETF) in November, which reached $6.5 billion and $1.1 billion, respectively. Bloomberg data shows that last Friday marked an all-time high for daily Ether ETF subscriptions.
$2 Billion Silk Road bitcoin Moved to Coinbase
In the options market, there has been a notable increase in downside protection for bitcoin at later expirations this month. Meanwhile, btc Futures have exhibited moderate leverage, remaining relatively moderate after bitcoin surpassed the $99,000 mark.
According to Vetle Lunde, head of research at K33, on-chain data suggests that traders who bought btc in the $55,000 to $70,000 range are now actively making profits. “Profit taking has been particularly intense with btc trading above $90,000,” Lunde commented.
Jake Ostrovskis, a trader at Wintermute OTC, noted that “the market has taken a pause for the last 10 days as bitcoin sits just below $100,000. Volatility levels have compressed slightly, with bitcoin at the 64th percentile and Ether significantly higher at the 81st.”
This compression in volatility suggests a cautious sentiment among traders as they assess the next market moves, with the possibility of a new wave of lower support levels being retested in btc. price actionwhich could jeopardize the $100,000 milestone that will be reached at the end of the year.
Related reading
A recent event adds to the uncertainty in the market reported According to NewsBTC on Monday, nearly $2 billion in btc previously seized from the Silk Road marketplace was moved from US government wallets to Coinbase.
These moves often spark speculation among traders, as similar moves by the US government to massively liquidate its holdings contributed to the bearish trend in the second and third quarters of the year, when btc fell more than 20% in two months. consecutive.
At the time of writing, btc is trading at $94,480, down 0.5% in the last 24 hours.
Featured image of DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com
