(Kitco News) - Altcoins saw increased attention from traders on Thursday thanks to several notable announcements that helped entice crypto fans into the market despite the flat price action for both Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH).
Social media platforms continue to spark token rallies amid the crypto winter, with Polygon (MATIC) and Arweave (AR) the latest beneficiaries of a high-profile integration as Meta revealed that both will play an instrumental role in allowing Instagram users to mint and store nonfungible tokens (NFTs).
Aside from several breakout coins, the wider crypto market, along with the traditional markets, fell under pressure as traders remained cautious about diving back into the markets following assertions by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell that hopes for a policy pivot were “premature” following yesterday’s fourth consecutive interest rate hike of 75 basis points.
Data from TradingView shows that Bitcoin traded in a narrowing price range on Thursday, with bulls successfully defending support at $20,000 while bears have reinforced resistance at $20,400.
BTC/USD 4-hour chart. Source: TradingView
According to Kitco senior technical analyst Jim Wyckoff, the sideways price action has yet to confirm a bearish outlook; “However, a fledgling price uptrend on the daily bar chart is now in jeopardy of being negated.”
As it stands now, “Bulls still have the slight overall near-term technical advantage but need to show fresh power soon to keep it,” Wyckoff warned.
A survey of crypto Twitter suggests a similar outlook, with many expecting one final drop to new lows in BTC before the next bull run kicks off.
$BTC / $USD - Macro update
— Crypto Tony (@CryptoTony__) November 3, 2022
My main bias has not changed as i expect more consolidation and one more drop to produce a spring like motion to kick start the bull run pic.twitter.com/n0FYKxvtge
Looking forward to 2025
Insight into what the future might hold for Bitcoin was offered by Finder.com, which predicts that the sideways action will continue for the remainder of the year. That being said, investors can look forward to 2025 as the top crypto “could see new heights not reached before.”
According to Finder’s panel of 55 fintech and cryptocurrency specialists, BTC will be worth $21,344 at the end of 2022 “before skyrocketing to $79,193 by 2025.”
While that number is far below what many of the overly optimistic predictions have been in recent years – with many calling for a $1 million BTC in the not-too-distant future – it is more than three times the current trading price, representing a respectable gain in anyone's portfolio.
CoinSmart Financial CEO Justin Hartzman is slightly less optimistic, seeing a price of $17,000 by the end of the year and a spike to $75,000 by 2025.
“Bitcoin is suffering due to external macro conditions. My 2025 price prediction will depend on the aftermath of the halving. If macro conditions improve and the regulatory environment gets better, then BTC price should be able to rise up,” Hartzman said.
A majority of those surveyed (53%) believe that Bitcoin’s price will continue to be correlated with high-growth tech stocks. Despite the broader market drop and Bitcoin dominance falling below 40%, the majority of panelists (77%) still consider Bitcoin a store of value.
Overall, 46% of panelists said it's time to buy BTC, 44% remain neutral and 10% indicated that it's time to sell.
Altcoins trend higher
It was a green day for the vast majority of tokens in the top 200 as prices bounced back from yesterday’s downturn following hawkish comments from the Fed.
Daily cryptocurrency market performance. Source: Coin360
The biggest gainers on the day include Arweave (AR), which spiked 47.83% following the announcement of its partnership with Meta, a 44.4% price increase for Mask (MASK) and a 30.77% gain for OKB (OKB).
Traditional markets fell under pressure after the Fed reiterated its intentions to continue to raise interest rates to combat inflation, resulting in the S&P, Dow and Nasdaq all closing in the red, down 1.06%, 0.46%, and 1.73%, respectively.
The overall cryptocurrency market cap now stands at $1.007 trillion, and Bitcoin’s dominance rate is 38.6%.
