Bitcoin
and other cryptocurrencies slipped Friday as traders took part in another round of profit-taking after a remarkable two-month rally across digital assets. Trends, however, remain positive for cryptos into the end of the year.
The price of Bitcoin has fallen 1% over the past 24 hours to below $43,600, retreating after a spike above $44,400 in earlier trading, which marked a return to its recent peak and the around the highest levels for the largest digital asset since April 2022. Bitcoin has rallied by some two-thirds since mid-October, ending a multi-month period of subdued trading and sparking calls of a new crypto bull market—but there are signs that traders want to take profit, with dips in recent days amid quick bouts of selling.
“Very quickly, the market was hit by another wave of profit-taking, which has become commonplace over the past fortnight,” said Alex Kuptsikevich, an analyst at broker FxPro. “Horizontal resistance has been effectively holding back the bulls for the past three weeks. On the other hand, the price dips are getting shallower, keeping the longer-term bullish trend in place.”
Indeed, smaller retraces from highs amid profit-taking looks like a good sign for Bitcoin— and it’s certainly an encouraging technical market backdrop amid support from other more fundamental forces.
The key narrative in crypto continues to be anticipation that U.S. regulators will soon approve the first spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), which would be expected to usher in a fresh wave of investor interest. Historically tight token supply and an improving macroeconomic backdrop have also helped, with cryptos gaining alongside the
Dow Jones Industrial Average
and
S&P 500
amid bets that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates multiple times next year.
There are unlikely to be many major catalysts for cryptos until 2024, when the Securities and Exchange Commission faces a decision deadline for a spot Bitcoin ETF from Ark and 21 Shares—but market participants remain upbeat. Bitcoin continues to benefit from momentum, and bouts of profit-taking will not disturb that.
Beyond Bitcoin,
Ether
—the second-largest token—gained 1% to $2,300. Smaller cryptos or altcoins were more mixed, with
Cardano
hovering around flat but
Polygon
popping 7%. Memecoins were in the green, with
Dogecoin
advancing 1% and
Shiba Inu
up 2%.
Write to Jack Denton at [email protected]
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