On Sunday, December 10, Bitcoin (BTC) was trading at $43.8 thousand, its price has increased by 11.3% since the end of the previous week. On December 9, the first cryptocurrency updated its next high for 2023, reaching $44,700 against the stablecoin Tether USD (USDT) on the Binance exchange. Well-known analyst and CFO of the ASTL investment project Konstantinas Sizovas analyzed the situation on the market and assessed the prospects for the movement of the Bitcoin rate over the next seven days.
In the past week, Bitcoin has been actively growing and set a new annual high at $44,700. At the time of writing, the weekly return is 9.58%. On Monday, December 4, the price of BTC rose to $42,154, consolidating above the resistance level of $38,500. On Tuesday, the growth continued to $44,073 amid positive statements by the head of the Coinbase exchange about the prospects of Bitcoin. On Wednesday, after rising to $44,488, there was a slight correction to $43,335 amid a strengthening dollar. On Thursday, the correction widened to $42,821 due to the flow of some funds from BTC to Ethereum (ETH). However, on Friday the price recovered to $44,400. The price increase began closer to the opening of the trading session in the United States and accelerated after the publication of a report on the labor market, which exceeded economists’ expectations. By the end of trading, buyers raised the price to $44,400. It is curious that Bitcoin rose in price against the backdrop of a simultaneous strengthening of the US dollar and growth in stock indices. The dollar index rose to 104.05 points on positive statistics and rising government bond yields. This means markets are delaying expectations for the Fed to ease monetary policy in March 2024.
The growth was driven by unexpectedly high average monthly wages, unemployment rates and the number of new jobs in the US economy. These data strengthened the Fed’s hawkish sentiment regarding another interest rate hike. The number of new jobs in the US non-farm sector in November amounted to 199 thousand, compared with the forecast of 180 thousand. The unemployment rate unexpectedly fell to 3.7% against expectations of 3.9%. The growth rate of hourly wages also turned out to be higher than expected. In addition, data released Friday from the University of Michigan showed a significant improvement in consumer sentiment after 4 months of decline.
Next week on Tuesday, the headline and core consumer price indices (CPI) for November will be released, which will largely determine expectations for the Fed’s next decisions. As a result of strong macroeconomic statistics, US Treasury bond rates increased. However, the market is not yet expecting a Fed rate hike in December, although a slowdown in policy easing is considered likely in 2024. The more important information will likely be contained in the forecasts of individual Fed members – how far they will go to reduce inflation.
Major financial market players such as Fidelity and BlackRock are actively engaging with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to seek approval to launch Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). They provide detailed presentations and updates showcasing their ETF products, including creation models, redemptions and other key aspects. These efforts demonstrate the desire of institutional players to remove regulatory barriers to enter the crypto market. This interest from traditional financial institutions is a reflection of the growing importance of the cryptocurrency space.
Traders and investors were betting on growth based on three assumptions. First, there is a belief that November and December are historically good months for Bitcoin in terms of returns. Secondly, the wait for Bitcoin ETFs to be approved by the SEC has increased, and thirdly, the countdown continues to the next Bitcoin mining reward cut in 2024.
Thus, the week ending December 10 was successful for Bitcoin, and extremely profitable for investors who prefer long positions. By the weekend, Bitcoin had come close to the next psychological milestone of $45 thousand, but the growth rate had slowed. Bitcoin will have to force this mark in the week from December 11 to 17. At the time of writing the review, the BTC/USD pair is trading at $43,850 against a yearly high of $44,710. The price continues to move up without sharp pullbacks. According to BitRiver estimates, the resistance zone is between $44-45 thousand. After it, the road opens to the level of $51 thousand. The growth phase will last until January 8, 2024. It is also worth noting that from December 13, a zone of increased turbulence begins. Any failure of buyers will work against them; risks for successful profit-taking before the New Year are not excluded.
In the first half of the week, you can expect high Bitcoin volatility amid the Fed meeting and the publication of inflation data. The crypto market can be in a fever – from sharp rises in anticipation of the Fed’s decision to a sudden correction immediately after Powell’s speech. Support levels for Bitcoin will be $41-42 thousand, and resistance levels will be $48 thousand.
By the end of the week, Bitcoin will show how strong the bulls are in the crypto market, and whether they will be able to muster the strength to confidently gain a foothold above the $45 thousand mark. Considering that the deadline for publication of the SEC decision on applications to launch a Bitcoin ETF falls on the beginning of January 2024, it is possible expect that the upward dynamics in the cryptocurrency market will continue in the coming month. While crypto market participants have not received a final answer to the ETF question, they will continue to hope for the imminent launch of an exchange-traded fund tied to cryptocurrency, and their hopes will serve as a locomotive for the growth of Bitcoin.
Against the backdrop of such trends, one of the legitimate and stable forms of investing in obtaining consistently high passive income is investing in the ASTL project (Hong Kong), which gives investors the opportunity to directly invest fiat and cryptocurrency assets into stable passive income, which obviously exceeds inflation expectations and does not fall under any sanctions, blocking and confiscation. The ASTL project is a simple and elegant solution for potential investors – an investment in the development of the real sector of a diversified portfolio of cryptocurrencies, with a fairly high APR (up to 14%) with payments in stablecoin (USDT) and the possibility of a full return on investment through the subsequent sale of accrued ASTL tokens on leading crypto exchanges . Details can be found at https://astl.world
