Decentral Block Post

Bitcoin (BTC) starts a new week in risky territory as sell-offs from whales mark a change in mood.

The latest weekly close has done little to comfort nervous traders as a pause in “up only” BTC price activity continues.

With just two weeks to go until the yearly candle concludes, the countdown is on — together with the pressure — across risk assets.

Macro data releases — key short-term volatility catalysts — are set to keep coming for the remainder of December, with United States gross domestic product (GDP) figures due as markets digest last week’s moves by the Federal Reserve.

It seems as if a “Santa rally” is less and less on the cards for Bitcoin at present. As high fees leave a bitter taste in hodlers’ mouths, commentators suggest refocusing on next month’s potential spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) approval.

Blockchain-based lending has regained momentum in 2023, with the value of active tokenized private credit now sitting at $582 million — a staggering 128% increase from a year ago.

While still far from its peak of $1.5 billion in June 2022, according to data from real-world asset loan tracker RWA.xyz, the resurgence could signal that loan-seekers are looking for blockchain-based alternatives to traditional financiers amid a recent rise in interest rates.

The current average percentage rate is 9.64% for blockchain-based credit protocols, while financiers have been offering small business bank loan interest rates between 5.75% and 11.91%, according to a Dec. 1 report by NerdWallet.

The loans being taken out aren’t small either. RWA.xyz has tracked $4.5 billion in blockchain-based loans across 1,804 deals, which means the average loan comes out at about $2.5 million.

One of the most noteworthy loan-seekers of late is United Kingdom-based asset management firm Fasanara Capital, which took out a $38.3 million loan from Clearpool at a sub-7% base annual percentage yield (APY).

A Solana Saga phone appears to have sold for as much as $5,000 on eBay — more than eight times its retail cost — after a frenzy to pick up a free memecoin airdrop caused the devices to sell out on the official website for the first time.

According to a Dec. 16 listing on the online marketplace eBay, two unopened, in-box phones have recently sold, listed for $5,000 or “best offer,” while another device has sold for $3,316 or “best offer.”

An additional 20 devices managed to sell for over $2,000 over the weekend, a more than $1,400 markup on the original $599 price tag on the Solana Mobile website.

Since the device launched on May 8, each new Saga phone has come with a free 30 million Bonk (BONK) token airdrop. Last week, traders began noticing that a price surge in Bonk meant that the free airdrop had become more valuable than the device itself, causing the phone to sell out as of Dec. 16.

Buyers of these scalped Saga phones are likely a bet that the price of the memecoin will continue to appreciate even further. In the last 30 days, Bonk surged nearly 800% as the token gained mass traction among memecoin enthusiasts and opportunistic traders.

Bitcoin’s (BTC) eight-week winning streak is likely to end as the price is down nearly 4% this week. The recent weakness indicates profit-booking by traders but it does not change the short-term uptrend. The pullback will also help reduce the froth that may have been building.

After the initial shakeout, strong hands are likely to re-enter the crypto market as the macro environment remains bullish for risk-assets. The decision by the Federal Reserve to pause rate hikes and possibly reduce rates in 2024 could further boost demand for crypto products.

However, nothing goes up in a straight line. After sharp rallies, traders generally book profits and shift their focus to other coins. As Bitcoin takes a breather, traders' are likely to turn their attention to select altcoins.

What are the coins that may attract buyers in the short term? Let’s look at the charts of the top-five cryptocurrencies that are showing promise.

Bitcoin price analysis

Bitcoin is getting squeezed between the 20-day exponential moving average ($41,370) and the downtrend line. This sets the stage for a sharp breakout within the next few days.

Bitcoin’s (BTC) eight-week winning streak is likely to end as the price is down nearly 4% this week. The recent weakness indicates profit-booking by traders but it does not change the short-term uptrend. The pullback will also help reduce the froth that may have been building.

After the initial shakeout, strong hands are likely to re-enter the crypto market as the macro environment remains bullish for risk-assets. The decision by the Federal Reserve to pause rate hikes and possibly reduce rates in 2024 could further boost demand for crypto products.

However, nothing goes up in a straight line. After sharp rallies, traders generally book profits and shift their focus to other coins. As Bitcoin takes a breather, traders' are likely to turn their attention to select altcoins.

What are the coins that may attract buyers in the short term? Let’s look at the charts of the top-five cryptocurrencies that are showing promise.

Bitcoin price analysis

Bitcoin is getting squeezed between the 20-day exponential moving average ($41,370) and the downtrend line. This sets the stage for a sharp breakout within the next few days.

Bitcoin (BTC) on-chain transaction fees are dividing opinion as the cost of sending BTC skyrockets.

Data from the statistics resource BitInfoCharts puts the average transaction fee at nearly $40 as of Dec. 17.

Commentators: High Bitcoin fees are inevitable

The latest wave of Bitcoin Ordinals inscriptions has resulted in elevated transaction fees for all network users — but some believe that they are here to stay.

Per BitInfoCharts, it currently costs just over $37 to send BTC on-chain — the highest average figure since April 2021.

Additional figures from Mempool.space show that Bitcoin’s mempool — the size of the unconfirmed on-chain transaction backlog — is vast, resulting in transactions with an attached fee of even $2 having no on-chain priority.