(Kitco News) – Cryptocurrency bulls looked to course correct in early trading on Wednesday after prices slid lower the previous two days amid the first major profit-taking episode in the burgeoning bull market.
“The crypto market dipped to a total cap of $3.15 trillion on Tuesday,” noted Alex Kuptsikevich, chief market analyst at FxPro. “However, on Wednesday morning, buying prevailed, pushing the capitalization back above $3.22 trillion, around the same level as the previous day. The return of buyers is boosting hopes of an end to the correction, fuelled by the overwhelmingly positive momentum in equity markets.”
“A major driver of the recent correction was Bitcoin (BTC), which lost almost 9% from peak to trough,” he added. “Both profit-taking and the cautious sentiment in global markets drove it down. The impact of both factors may be waning at the 76.4% retracement of the rally from the November lows, a strong level in strong bull markets.”
Kuptsikevich highlighted that “Bitcoin's recent pullback gave altcoins a chance to catch up. The Altcoin Season Index has risen to 54, a new high for the year and an impressive rise from 27 in the last six days. This is an indirect confirmation that Bitcoin's recent correction is due to a search for more profitable alternatives rather than a fundamental change in sentiment. As such, we expect the crypto market to return to historic highs soon, with altcoins being the driving force. However, this does not negate the renewal of the highs of the first cryptocurrency.”
Data provided by TradingView shows that after bottoming out at $90,686 late on Tuesday, Bitcoin bounced higher, and bulls pushed the price action, lifting BTC back to $96,000 while market watchers were focused on the latest Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) report.
BTC/USD Chart by TradingView
The PCE report from October showed that inflation remains a tricky beast to tame as prices rose 0.3% month-over-month and 2.8% year-over-year. Despite the sticky nature of inflation, the CME FedWatch Tool shows that Wall Street has actually become more optimistic about an interest rate cut in December, putting the odds at 66%, up from 59% yesterday and 55% last week.
Analysts widely agree that the path remains higher for Bitcoin and the altcoin market, and some have moved past discussions about the $100,000 price level for BTC and are instead trying to gauge what the next high will be before another pullback.
TradingView analyst Weslad highlighted the “potential development of an ascending broadening wedge targeting the 107k–109k zone,” adding that “This scenario hinges on Bitcoin maintaining price levels above the critical 86k support.”
“It’s important to note that any sustained movement below 86k will immediately invalidate this plan,” he said. “The primary reasoning behind this outlook is the continuation of a higher high (HH) and potential higher low (HL) structure, observed in a zig-zag price pattern.”
Responding to Bitcoin’s turnaround on Wednesday, TradingView analyst Alan Santana declared, “$120,000 is now confirmed, and Bitcoin will resume growing shortly. Only three days red, hundreds of days green.”
“Bitcoin will continue rising, the chart is showing no bearish force,” he added. “100K is already hit. $99,588 is technically 100K. With no correction developing after such strong growth, the next target is now confirmed.”
“Bitcoin is set to grow, continue higher, moving up toward 120K,” Santana said. “This is the first target. It will continue rising, continue higher, growing more and more with each passing day. No bearish momentum, no selling, and no major drop. With no selling pressure and bullish Altcoins, it is very easy to predict that Bitcoin will continue to grow.”
“Buy Bitcoin now and hold,” he concluded. “We are going up.”
And according to Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson, $120,000 is just a stepping stone to a potential market top between $250,000 and $500,000.
“It is my belief that Bitcoin will go to $250,000 to $500,000 within 12 to 24 months because of inflows and interest,” he said. “BTC is the store of value for the Internet and will remain in that role now that it has a DeFi layer.”
This outlook aligned with technical analyst Gert van Lagen’s insight on the current stage of the bull market cycle, with the “FOMO phase, the final Blow-off run-up to long-term holder Euphoria” set to propel Bitcoin above $250,000.
$BTC Bull market since 2019 has entered the FOMO phase, the final Blow-off run-up to long-term holder Euphoria. pic.twitter.com/2Wfd7MVghD
— Gert van Lagen (@GertvanLagen) November 27, 2024
At the time of writing, Bitcoin trades at $95,626, an increase of 2.61% on the 24-hour chart.
