Bitcoin saw a rather rapid correction at the start of the week which brought it back to the $40,000 level. This correction understandably shook up some investors in the market, who rushed to panic sell in order to avoid more losses. Once the selling began to die down, the price of the cryptocurrency has been on a slow but steady recovery. Amid this, one crypto analyst has predicted that there could be further upside to come for Bitcoin.

Bitcoin Price Could Retest $69,000

Currently, $69,000 is the holy grail when it comes to price targets for Bitcoin because this remains the asset’s all-time high price. While the price is only at $40,000, it is important to note that it will only take another 70% move from here for the price to reach a new all-time high.

On the topic of reclaiming this all-time high price, crypto analyst Weslad took to TradingView to share their most recent analysis of Bitcoin. According to Weslad, the Bitcoin price could be gearing up for a retest that could take it back to $69,000. This retest is confirmed by the appearance of a cup and handle pattern that suggests a further upside for the price.

As the crypto analyst points out, Bitcoin completed a neckline breakout of a cup and handle pattern when it surged above $31,800 and continued to rise. This completed the cup and handle pattern, and is “now serving as immediate support and demand,” Weslad explained.

The completion of this pattern is also a major factor for an upcoming rally. This is because the pattern is yet to complete the breakout and has not reached its final target yet. As the chart shared by the analyst shows, the current correction is expected and the final target for this pattern sits somewhere around $69,000.

BTC Price Could Go One Of Two Directions

While the possibility of a Bitcoin breakout does remain high due to the completion of the cup and handle pattern, there is still more than one scenario that could play out from here. Naturally, the two possible scenarios here are either bullish or bearish.

Weslad presents two scenarios with the first one being an upward rally. The analyst explains that this rally, marked Scenario A, could come as a result of the sustained support at the Handle’s target zone. In this case, there is resistance for the BTC price between $48,000 and $50,000.

Moving on to the next scenario, Scenario B is the bulls failing to surmount the expected resistance at $48,000 and $50,000. In such a case, the analyst suggests that the Bitcoin price could correct further down, going as low as the Neckline at $31,000, which currently acts as a critical support zone.

The Bitcoin price experienced a notable downturn as selling pressure intensified, resulting in a decline of over 4% from its annual peak of $44,500. This downturn was further exacerbated by the loss of the crucial $42,000 support level. 

However, the largest cryptocurrency in the market received a substantial uplift from the US Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), which has spurred a rapid 1.8% surge in BTC’s value within the past two hours. As a result, Bitcoin has successfully recovered the $42,000 support level.

FASB’s Fair Value Recognition Brings Clarity To BTC?

In a significant development for the cryptocurrency industry, the FASB has announced new accounting rules that require companies, including prominent entities like MicroStrategy, Tesla, and Block, to measure their cryptocurrency holdings at fair value. 

These rules, set to go into effect in 2025, allow businesses to capture the real-time highs and lows of their Bitcoin and Ethereum (ETH) assets, providing a more accurate representation of their holdings.

Under the previous accounting practices, companies were only allowed to record the lows, resulting in a one-sided accounting treatment that often led to reduced valuations and diminished earnings for businesses holding cryptocurrencies. The highly volatile nature of crypto values further exacerbated the issue.

The FASB’s new rules address these concerns by mandating the recording of cryptocurrencies at fair value, a measurement technique aimed at reflecting the most up-to-date value of these assets. 

Changes in fair value will now be recorded in net income, allowing companies to account for fluctuations in the value of their crypto holdings more comprehensively.

The positive news for BTC lies in the fact that the new FASB rules provide greater transparency and accuracy in assessing the true value of cryptocurrency assets. By capturing fluctuations in fair value, companies will have a more realistic representation of their holdings, enabling better decision-making and financial reporting.

Bitcoin, being the most widely recognized and valuable cryptocurrency, stands to benefit significantly from these changes. The recognition of its fair value allows companies to showcase the true worth of their BTC holdings, potentially boosting investor confidence and attracting further institutional interest.

Turbulent Times Ahead For Bitcoin Price

Following these recent developments, the Bitcoin price has successfully rebounded to previously lost levels, demonstrating heightened volatility after a brief consolidation phase just below $42,000.

However, according to CoinGlass’ liquidation heatmap, Bitcoin’s price may be facing further volatility that could lead to a significant amount of liquidation of both long and short positions. 

The liquidation heatmap from CoinGlass highlights substantial indications of liquidation leverage exceeding $200 million both above and below the current Bitcoin price. 

Of particular concern is the thick liquidation leverage below $41,000, as seen in the chart above, which, combined with the prevailing trend, could become a probable target for the Bitcoin price in the coming days.

Conversely, following BTC’s correction, additional liquidation leverage has emerged in CoinGlass’s heatmap, particularly in the $42,000 and $43,000 range of short positions. This added selling pressure has contributed to the retracement of the Bitcoin price.

This potential scenario suggests a potential price swing up and down before a stable continuation of either the downward or upward momentum. The outcome remains uncertain as to which side will give way first and what prevailing trend will shape the latter part of the year.

Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com

Recent reports have revealed that Bitcoin (BTC) is experiencing a significant surge in whale activity, which has since caused quite a stir in the entire crypto community.

Bitcoin Experiences Surge In Whale Transactions 

According to Whale Alert, Bitcoin has been displaying a surge in whale transactions over the past 24 hours.  The crypto tracker recently revealed several whale transfers from unknown wallets to crypto exchanges such as Binance and Coinbase. 

The report shows that Binance amassed a whale inflow of over $67 million from the transfers. Meanwhile, Coinbase amassed a whale inflow valued at over $310 million from the transfers.

A recent transaction of 781 BTC was reported by Whale Alert, which came from four distinct cryptocurrency wallets. However, about 658 BTC were seen transferred directly to Binance.

In addition, early on Wednesday morning, a different unknown wallet sent 499 BTC to Binance. This move is worth almost $20.6 million as of the time of the transaction.

The most recent whale activity reported by the crypto tracker shows that about 500 BTCs were transferred into Binance. As of the time of the report, the transaction was valued at $20.5 million.

For Coinbase, the tracker revealed a whopping 7,515 Bitcoin that was transferred by unknown wallets to the crypto exchange. The first transaction saw about 2,510 BTC, valued at $104.2 million sent from an unknown wallet 1xkfCoJyCZ…Ur7bZJWuXJ to Coinbase. The second whale transaction witnessed 2,494 BTC transferred by another different wallet to the crypto platform. 

Meanwhile, the last whale transaction from the anonymous wallet 15LhEQYPdK…88T9kLM55m transferred 2,511 BTC to Coinbase. Nonetheless, the crypto tracker has reported that these BTCs have been moved from the exchange to several wallets.

So far there is no solid evidence that these whale transactions have had any effect on the price of Bitcoin. 

Support Levels To Watch Out Says Analyst

Cryptocurrency analyst Ali Martinez has recently shared key levels to watch out for concerning the crypto asset. The analyst took to X (formerly Twitter) to share these crucial support levels for the crypto community and investors.

Ali asserted that BTC will find solid support between $37,150 and $38,360 should in case a deep correction occurs. He further added that the zone is backed by 1.52 million addresses holding about 534,000 BTC.

Furthermore, he highlighted two resistance walls that could oppose the crypto asset’s upward rally. The first resistance wall is $43,850, while the second wall is $46,400.

Currently, BTC is sitting at $41,380, indicating a 1% decline in the last 24 hours as of the time of writing. Its market capitalization is currently valued at approximately $809 billion, indicating the same percentage decline, according to CoinMarketCap.

Crypto analyst Austin Hilton is the latest to give his opinion on the future trajectory of the XRP price going forward. Specifically, Hilton noted two events that will spur XRP’s price to go up “dramatically.” The analyst also outlined other metrics that present a bullish sentiment for the XRP ecosystem. 

Major Events That Will Cause XRP Price To Rise

In a video shared on his YouTube Channel, Hilton singled out the approval of Spot Bitcoin ETFs and the upcoming Bitcoin Halving as the two events that will cause XRP’s price to go up “dramatically.” He mentioned that the XRP price could rise to over $1.50 when the SEC approves these funds. 

Bloomberg analysts James Seyffart and Eric Balchunas currently predict that there is a 90% chance that a Spot BTC ETF will get approved by January 10. Although he had his reservations about that, he seemed optimistic that the SEC would approve these funds soon as the Commission is “running out of reasons to say no.”

Once that happens, he expects his price prediction of $1.50 or over to materialize. He had referred to an article where another analyst predicted that XRP would hit this price level in March. However, he believes that it could happen in January or February, depending on how things go.

Hilton was quick to point out the fact that these events (BTC Spot ETF & Bitcoin Halving) do not exactly relate to XRP. However, he stated that XRP, being a blue chip, will move up when the overall market moves up. Major altcoins have so far been beneficiaries of Bitcoin’s metric rise on the back of a possible Spot BTC ETF approval. As such, that could explain Hilton’s position on XRP’s rise. 

On-Chain Metrics Suggest Bullish Sentiments For XRP

The analyst also noted that on-chain metrics suggest a bullish outlook for the XRP ecosystem. These metrics include the number of daily transactions and wallet addresses on the XRP Ledger. According to him, this suggests that there is a “fair amount” of liquidity flowing into the ecosystem. 

The XRP Ledger indeed continues to record significant milestones in terms of transactions processed on the network. Data from BitInfoCharts also shows that XRP has been going head-to-head with Bitcoin and Ethereum in terms of daily transactions.

Despite the XRP price’s relatively tepid movement, Hilton sounded bullish on the crypto token as he mentioned that current price levels are a “steal” considering the heights that XRP will attain. 

At the time of writing, the XRP price is trading at around $0.60, down over 2% in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap. 

The on-chain analytics firm Santiment has revealed a Cardano pattern that may have contributed as a trigger for the recent 65% rally in ADA’s price.

Cardano Observed A Sudden Loss Of Wallets Prior To Rally

As explained by Santiment in a post on X, ADA witnessed a large number of small wallets clear themselves out last month. The relevant indicator here is the “Supply Distribution,” which keeps track of the total amount of Cardano wallets that belong to the different groups in the market.

The wallets or investors are categorized into these groups based on the number of tokens that they are carrying in their balance. For example, the 1 to 10 coins cohort includes all holders owning at least 1 and at most 10 ADA.

If the Supply Distribution is applied to this group, it would (among other things) total up the number of wallets satisfying this condition right now. In the context of the current discussion, Santiment has discussed about the Supply Distribution of two groups: 10 to 100 coins and 0 to infinity. The second one here is naturally a combination of all the wallet groups in existence, as there is no upper bound.

Now, here is a chart that shows the trend in the indicator for these two Cardano groups over the last few months:

As displayed in the above graph, both of these Cardano groups observed a plunge in their wallet count back on November 17. In total, the addresses carrying some ADA balance dropped by almost 35,000 on this day.

Generally, this kind of mass exit can be a bearish sign for the cryptocurrency, as it indicates a selloff is taking place. However, the finer details about which groups exactly have taken part in such selling can affect the outlook of the asset.

Interestingly, as Santiment has noted, 98.1% of the wallets involved in the aforementioned selloff belonged to the small holders. This would suggest that the larger entities like the sharks and whales only saw a minimal amount of exit during this plunge.

“A drop of addresses this size or smaller often indicates capitulation, and a potential price turning point,” explains the analytics firm. It would appear that the retail investors may have fallen prey to fear and sold off their holdings, which the big money investors potentially scooped up.

Related Reading: Bitcoin Rushes To Exchanges, But This Sign Remains Positive For The Bulls

Since this mass exodus of the small hands, Cardano has rallied around 65%, perhaps suggesting that this pattern may have been one of the contributors behind the surge.

ADA Price

While Cardano kicked off the month with some sustained bullish momentum, the rally has cooled off in the last few days as ADA has observed a notable pullback.

Since the $0.648 local top, the asset’s price has come down almost 11% as it now floats around the $0.577 mark.

Shiba Inu has been going against the bearish trend recently, especially with the increased adoption of the Shibarium Layer 2 network. This time around, it is large holders who are driving the bullish return. Specifically, these large holders have increased their positive net flows by more than 10x.

Shiba Inu Large Holder Netflow Jumps 1079%

According to the on-chain data tracker IntoTheBlock, the Shiba Inu large holder net flow has seen a significant rise. These large wallets saw their net flow ( the total difference between inflows and outflows) rise an outstanding 1079% starting from December 10.

In total, the net flow of these large wallets came out to a whopping 4.68 trillion SHIB. Now, this is important when placed in comparison to the numbers from the previous days which the tracker shows to be just under the 287 billion SHIB mark.

A logical explanation for this massive uptick in net flows is that these whales are looking to take advantage of the low SHIB prices. On December 10, the SHIB price was still trading above $0.00001, which is when the net flows were under 287 billion.

However, as the SHIB price began to drop, the net flows of these large accounts began to rise. The further the price dropped, the more the whales added to their wallets. This shows a clear intent to accumulate tokens with the belief that the price is poised to bounce back again.

SHIB Investor Sentiment Turning Bullish

The decline in price has understandably eroded investors’ bullishness to a certain degree. But this seems to be short-lived especially as metrics begin to turn toward the upside. The first of these is the SHIB burn rate seeing an uptick in the last day.

Data from Shibburn highlights a 49% increase in the burn rate of the meme coin over the last 24 hours. This comes as a total of 2.88 billion tokens were burned by the community at this time. Usually, this happens as investors expect a turning point in the price.

Additionally, the Shiba Inu Fear & Greed Index has also managed to maintain a neutral level. This suggests that there is still a good level of bullishness left after the price decline. As long as metrics continue to improve, there could be a turnback toward recovery soon.

According to blockchain security company SlowMist, OKX DEX, a decentralized exchange aggregator platform, lost cryptocurrency valued at over $400,000.

An attacker was able to transfer tokens that users had not allowed by compromising the management privileges of a market maker contract, according to the explanation for the vulnerability.

On the OKX DEX aggregator platform, a deprecated proxy contract was the subject of a recent vulnerability that allowed a hacker to obtain administration access to the contract without authorization.

OKX DEX: Deprecated Contract Raises Concerns

When a protocol stops actively using a contract to carry out user transactions, it is considered deprecated. It appears that OKX has updated the contract but hasn’t entirely stopped using it.

SlowMist Security Alert: OKX DEX Proxy Admin Owner’s Private Key Suspected to be Leaked

According to information from SlowMist Zone, the OKX DEX contract appears to have encountered an issue. After SlowMist’s analysis, it was found that when users exchange, they authorize…

— SlowMist (@SlowMist_Team) December 13, 2023

The claimTokens function of the OKX DEX smart contract experienced a problem, according to blockchain security firm SlowMist. The TokenApprove contract, which required user authorization, invokes the ability to send cash to a trustworthy DEX Proxy.

On December 12, the SlowMist team reported that the OKX DEX Proxy Admin Owner upgraded the DEX Proxy contract with a new implementation. The purpose of this new implementation was to invoke the claimTokens function straight from the DEX contract.

The exchange said that 18 of the approved addresses for the contract had been compromised, and linked the event to the management rights of a cancelled OKX DEX market maker contract being compromised.

Additionally, the exchange pledged to pay back all impacted users. It would also carry out a comprehensive security examination in order to stop something similar from happening again.

We regret to inform you that a deprecated smart contract on OKX Dex has been compromised. We have taken immediate action to secure all user funds and revoke the contract permissions. We are working with relevant agencies to locate the stolen funds and will reimburse affected… pic.twitter.com/zDIjhb3ETz

— OKX Web3 (Wallet | DeFi | NFT) (@okxweb3) December 13, 2023

OKX Hack: Actual Damages Unknown

According to PeckShield, another researcher specializing in blockchain security, this vulnerability has cost over $2.76 million.

In the last 30 days, OKX DEX is thought to have had over 50,000 active user wallets; however, it is unknown how many users were impacted by the most recent hack.

Users should employ caution while communicating with DeFi protocols, especially those supported by well-known firms in the industry, as highlighted by the OKX DEX breach.

Featured image from Shutterstock

Bitcoin seems to be undergoing a period of consolidation and profit-taking after eight weeks of phenomenal price growth. The world’s largest crypto has had incredible growth this year, with a special surge starting in the middle of October. 

However, after hitting a yearly high of $44,500 on December 8, the price of Bitcoin has pulled back about 6% as some investors look to be taking profits. According to on-chain data provider Glassnode, several of its on-chain pricing models suggest Bitcoin’s fair value is currently between $30,000 and $36,000.

Bitcoin’s Price Rally Pauses As After A Resistance At $44,500

Bitcoin’s price appreciation this year led to a 150% gain which pushed it above $44,500, but on-chain data shows the hot streak has cooled off a bit after forming a resistance at this price level. 

This has led to many short-term investors taking profit from their holdings. According to data from Whale Alerts, there have also been various instances of large BTC transactions into crypto exchanges in the past few days, suggesting some whale addresses might also be participating in the selloff.

658 #BTC (26,893,152 USD) transferred from unknown wallet to #Binancehttps://t.co/QzyF0MRiHT

— Whale Alert (@whale_alert) December 13, 2023

A short-term correction was inevitable, according to crypto data firm Glassnode’s fair value models. Their analysis based on the investor cost basis and network throughput suggests the fair price is lagging behind the current market spike.

A metric cited was the Active Investor Realized Price, which monitors the degree of HODLing across the network. According to this model, Bitcoin’s spot prices are currently trading above its realized price (fair value). 

Taking a look at historical trends shows it has taken between 14 to 20 months between the realized price and the creation of an all-time high. The path to the creation of a new ATH has also always involved major spot price fluctuations of ±50% around the Active Investors Realized Price.

The crypto asset is now 11 months into the break, with spot prices fluctuating between -38% and 21% of the realized price. If history repeats itself, we could see another few months of movements around the current fair value of $36,000. 

This price point correlates with a social media post by crypto analyst Ali Martinez. While noting IntoTheBlock data, the analyst noted strong support between $37,150 and $38,360, backed by 1.52 million addresses holding 534,000 BTC.

In case of a deeper correction, #Bitcoin finds solid support between $37,150 and $38,360. This zone is backed by 1.52 million addresses holding 534,000 $BTC.

Also, watch out for two resistance walls that could keep the #BTC uptrend at bay: one at $43,850 and another at $46,400. pic.twitter.com/NGm1XpMOLf

— Ali (@ali_charts) December 11, 2023

Another technical pricing model cited by Glassnode was the Mayer Multiple. The Mayer Multiple indicator is now at a value of 1.47, close to the 1.5 level which often forms a level of resistance in prior bull cycles. 

Glassnode’s report also looked at various other pricing models, including the NVT Premium indicator which evaluates the utility of the network throughput in terms of a USD value. According to the NVT Premium, the recent rally is one of the biggest spikes since Bitcoin’s all-time high in November 2021, suggesting an overvaluation in relation to the network throughput.

What’s Next For Bitcoin?

Bitcoin is trading at $40,963 at the time of writing. Although the crypto is now down by 6% in a 7-day timeframe, it is still monitoring gains of 8.5% from its December open of $37,731. The $44,500 level is now a crucial level for the asset, as the industry continues to wait for a bullish run after the approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs in the US. 

The crypto market is still in bullish sentiment, with Coinmarket’s Fear & Greed Index pointing to a 73 greed. A power through $44,500 would signal the resumption of the bullish trend for Bitcoin. Another resistance level to watch after the break would be the $46,400 level.

Immutable and its native IMX token deviate from the current cryptocurrency market downturn triggered by declines in Bitcoin and Ethereum. While most prominent gaming tokens have followed suit, experiencing a decrease in value since late Sunday, this pattern highlights the interconnected nature of digital assets.

Despite market volatility, the IMX token fights the downward pressure and continues its previous upward trajectory, demonstrating a unique resilience and potential decoupling from cryptocurrency correlation.

Immutable’s IMX Hits $2 Milestone

The trajectory of Immutable’s IMX token has been characterized by a rapid and substantial increase in value since October. This upward movement reached its zenith today, as the IMX token breached past the key $2 level.

At the time of writing, IMX was trading at $2.01, up 42% in the last seven days, data from CoinMarketCap shows.

Such a peak represents a significant milestone for the token, as it marks a level that had not been reached since April 2022. This extended duration underscores the significance of the current price surge, suggesting a notable departure from the historical price trends of the IMX token.

With a market valuation of more than $2.8 billion, Immutable X is one of the largest layer-2 networks globally. It is a network that is essential to the non-fungible token (NFT) and gaming industries.

The organization has collaborated with some of the major names in the gaming sector in the last few years. Companies like Merit Circle, Illuvium, Unity, Ubisoft, and StarkWare are a few of the most renowned partners.

In an effort to transform gaming on Beam in the future, the network has partnered with Merit Circle DAO and GameStop, two of the biggest American retailers.

In order to establish Transak as the “principal payments partner” for Immutable Checkout on the zkEVM network, Immutable established a new partnership with the payments processor on Monday.

Because of Immutable X’s low transaction costs, Ethereum-grade security, speedy transaction rates, and user-friendliness, developers adore it. Additionally, it contains all the tools required by developers to create scalable games, including Orderbook, Marketplace, Checkout, and Passport.

IMX Price Prediction

With 18 of the 30 (or 60%) green days and 11.72% price volatility over the past 30 days, Immutable X is still attracting the interest of investors. Likewise, Immutable’s future appears bright as 27 technical indicators are glowing green.

The CoinMarketCap ranking of the IMX token has increased to 29th. The spike is in reaction to VanEck’s claim that the introduction of new blockchain-based video games, such Illuvium, which is due out next year, may raise the value of the IMX token.

Immutable has also been trying to fix many of the technological pain points that have hampered the success of Web3 gaming thus far, according to VanEck.

Meanwhile, Coincodex’s current Immutable price prediction indicates that this week’s price of Immutable will fall by -7.18% to $ 0.003929.

The coin’s technical indicators show a bearish attitude at the moment, despite the Fear & Greed Index hitting 65 (Greed).

Featured image from Shutterstock

Injective Protocol’s INJ token has just hit a new all-time high of $27.02. However, it appears that the market is currently in a phase of rest and consolidation, with investors cautiously hopeful yet reluctant to drive prices much higher at the moment.

The overall trading activity has decreased from its recent peak, leading to a reduction in market volatility. Despite this, the price of INJ has experienced a 12% increase in the last day, currently trading at $25.

Injective Inks 50% Price Rally

One of the things to consider as the token searches for more growth is what has propelled it to a record high. So, is there a chance that this rally will last, or will bears ruin the bulls’ Yuletide celebration?

Injective’s native token has experienced a price explosion of over 50% in the previous 30 days, and the steady climb since the lows hit in December 2022 has featured a parabolic rise of over 1,500%. Positive news about the ecosystem and the general bullish mood have driven INJ higher in recent weeks.

Just the last day saw a 40% spike in INJ’s trading volume to $508 million. The price of INJ has fluctuated by around 15% during the last day, indicating high intraday volatility as well. Traders need to get ready for further volatility in the near future.

Now that Injective has a new ATH set, it is in unexplored terrain and might rise swiftly.

In the event of a decline, the nearest area of support is at $24, and then $20, which corresponds to the Fibonacci 0.382 retracement level. Just below that, at $16 and $15, respectively, you can find support at the 0.5 and 0.618 Fib levels. If INJ’s rally hits a wall, the stock might retrace to these levels before continuing its ascent.

INJ’s $65K Burn Boosts Weekly Surge

Injective’s weekly token burn has been one of the major triggers for the previous few days. The most recent of these saw the burning of over $65,000 worth of INJ, eliminating them from circulation forever.

Injective saw a notable increase in the total amount of INJ staked during the burn auction. There have been almost $1 billion worth of tokens staked thus far, based on on-chain data.

A bullish continuation might see buyers target prices above $30. A bearish turn in tandem with a wider market decline may signal a possible decline to $20–$18 range support.

INJ Positive Prediction 

Meanwhile, the current Coincodex Injective price prediction indicates a $27.50 price increase this week. Additionally, according to its technical indicators, the present mood is bullish, and the Fear & Greed Index is currently reading 67 (Greed).

The predicted annual low price for Injective in 2024 is $ 25.13, based on how the price has changed in the past and the BTC halving cycles. Injective, on the other hand, could cost as much as $35.49 next year.

Featured image from Warne Scope Mounts