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Bitcoin (BTC) managed to stay above the $26,000 level even as the S&P 500 tumbled to a three-month low and the US dollar index (DXY) rose to a new year-to-date high. This is a mildly positive sign as it shows a lack of aggressive selling at lower levels.

Bitcoin remains stuck inside a range and the directionless price action has kept the traders on the sidelines. Bitcoin’s daily spot exchange transactions topped 600,000 in March but dwindled down to 8,000-15,000 last week, according to new research from on-chain analytics platform CryptoQuant. Low liquidity could lead to volatile moves in either direction, hence traders should be careful and wait for confirmations rather than taking positions on every intraday breakout.

The near-term price action remains uncertain but that has not deterred the long-term bulls from adding Bitcoin to their portfolio. MicroStrategy co-founder and executive chairman Michael Saylor announced on X (formerly Twitter) that the firm had acquired 5,445 Bitcoin at an average price of $27,053 per Bitcoin.

Could Bitcoin and select altcoins start a short-term up-move? Let’s study the charts of the top 10 cryptocurrencies to find out.

Bitcoin price analysis

Bitcoin is witnessing a tough battle between the bulls and the bears near the 20-day exponential moving average ($26,436). The bulls pushed the price above the 20-day EMA on Sep. 27 but could not clear the 50-day simple moving average ($26,757).

A Bitcoin proponent’s recent attempt to crypto trade his way from New York to Alaska has come to a sudden and bitter end — some 900 miles from his final destination. 

Thomas Kralow, a crypto trader and educator recently set himself the daring task of traveling from one side of the United States to the other funded solely by trading crypto.

On Aug. 12, Kralow set out from New York with his assistant Ilya and an initial budget of $5,000 cash.

The pair forked out some cash for a dinged-up Mercedes and set up a Starlink antenna on the back of the vehicle — with fast internet being a requirement for quick trades — leaving them with just $2,500 to trade their way to Alaska.

Unfortunately for Kralow, he never made it to his final destination — with his cheap vehicle grinding to a permanent halt in Seattle, just 12 days after starting the journey.

Stablecoin issuer Circle has launched a Stellar network version of its euro-backed stablecoin, EURC, according to a Sept. 26 announcement. EURC was previously only available on the Ethereum and Avalanche networks.

Stablecoins, or fiat-backed crypto tokens, have become an essential component of the Web3 ecosystem. They allow users to send payments, borrow currency, lend it out for interest, and perform other fiat-currency related actions on blockchain networks. U.S. dollar-backed USD Coin (USDC) and Tether (USDT) are currently the sixth and seventh largest cryptocurrencies by market cap. Tether’s contract the third-largest consumer of gas fees on Ethereum, according to Etherscan.

However, most stablecoins are backed by the U.S. dollar. If a user wants to send Web3 payments denominated in their local currency, there currently aren’t many options.

USDC-issuer Circle attempted to help solve this problem in 2022 by launching EUROC, a euro-backed stablecoin on Ethereum. According to research published by the Bank of International Settlements, the euro is the second most traded fiat currency in the world. It is currently the official currency for 20 countries in Europe. On May 25, Circle launched a native version of EUROC on Avalanche, and on September 23 it was renamed “EURC.”

Related: ABN Amro issues 5M euro digital green bond through Polygon-powered Tokeny

Bitcoin’s (BTC) weakness on Sep. 24 shows that the bears remain in control. Sellers are trying to pull the price below $26,000 but the bulls are likely to defend the level with vigor. Buyers are trying to achieve a positive monthly close for Bitcoin in September for the first time since 2016.

If they can pull it off, it will be a major sentiment booster as October generally favors the buyers. According to CoinGlass data, Bitcoin has seen a negative monthly close in October only on two occasions, in 2014 and 2018. However, Bitcoin bulls will find it difficult to maintain the momentum if macroeconomic headwinds persist.

Another risk to the cryptocurrency recovery may come from the strength in the greenback, which has risen for ten straight weeks, its longest winning streak since 2014. The United States dollar index (DXY) has also formed a golden cross, indicating further potential upside in the near term.

Will the U.S. dollar extend its gains or witness a short-term correction? Can Bitcoin bulls hold off the bear pressure in the last week of September? Let’s analyze the charts to find out.

S&P 500 Index price analysis

The S&P 500 Index turned down sharply from the downtrend line and broke below the moving averages on Sep. 15. This started a downward move, which has reached the crucial support at 4,325.

Decentralized oracle network Chainlink has downplayed a recent change in the number of signers required on its multisig wallet — a move that garnered backlash on social media from vocal critics.

Crypto researcher Chris Blec was among a number of users on X (formerly known as Twitter) who called out Chainlink for quietly reducing the number of signatures required on its multi-signature wallet from 4-of-9 to 4-of-8.

The 4-of-8 multisig requirement is a security measure that requires four out of eight signatures to authorize a transaction.

In a Sept. 25 X post, Blec drew attention to an original post from a pseudonymous user which showed that a wallet address had been removed from the multisig wallet without any announcement being made by Chainlink.

While members of the crypto community were quick to raise their concerns with the move, a spokesperson for Chainlink told Cointelegraph that the update was part of a standard signer rotation process.

South Korea cryptocurrency exchange Upbit has resumed Aptos (APT) deposits and withdrawals again after fixing an issue that saw a scam APT token incorrectly recognized as the real deal.

On Sept. 24, Upbit abruptly halted Aptos token services after noting an “abnormal deposit attempt,” prompting an inspection of the wallet system.

The problem appears to have originated from a newly created fake APT token called “ClaimAPTGift.com” which had made its way to 400,000 Aptos wallets after its creation on Sept. 21.

The fake token was likely part of a typical token airdrop scam, in which users are airdropped tokens that contain links pointing unsuspecting users to phishing websites.

However, a reported failure by Upbit to properly verify the source code of the scam tokens led to the exchange recognizing the fake tokens as real Aptos tokens, allowing users to deposit them on Upbit and sell them for Aptos' market price, according to X user Definalist.

Bitcoin (BTC) has been trading in a tight range for the past three days even as the S&P 500 fell for the last four days of the week. This is a positive sign as it shows that cryptocurrency traders are not panicking and rushing to the exit. 

Bitcoin’s supply seems to be gradually shifting to stronger hands. Analyst CryptoCon said citing Glassnode data that Bitcoin’s short-term holders (STHs), investors who have held their coins for 155 days or less, hold the least amount of Bitcoin supply in more than a decade.

In the short term, the uncertainty regarding Bitcoin’s next directional move may have kept traders at bay. That could be one of the reasons for the subdued price action in several large altcoins. But it is not all negative across the board. Several altcoins are showing signs of a recovery in the near term.

Could Bitcoin shake out its slumber and start a bullish move in the near term? Can that act as a catalyst for an altcoin rally? Let’s study the charts of the top-five cryptocurrencies that may lead the charge higher.

Bitcoin price analysis

The bulls have managed to sustain the price above the 20-day exponential moving average ($26,523) but they have failed to start a strong rebound. This indicates a lack of demand at higher levels.

The Federal Reserve did not hike interest rates in its meeting on Sep. 20 but hinted that rates could remain higher for longer. At the post-meeting press conference, Fed Chair Jerome Powell cautioned that “the process of getting inflation sustainably down to 2% has a long way to go.”

This possible scenario may have triggered the sell-off in the United States equities markets and also in the cryptocurrency space. Risk assets typically tend to underperform in a high-interest-rate environment.

While the S&P 500 is down more than 2% and the Nasdaq about 3% this week, Bitcoin (BTC) has a remained flat.

The altcoins have been unable to hold on to their intra-week gains due to a risk-off sentiment. Still, an encouraging sign is that Bitcoin and the major altcoins have largely managed to stay above their crucial support levels. The price action over the next few days is critical as it is likely to witness a tough battle between the bulls and the bears.

Will bears seize the initiative and drag Bitcoin and the major altcoins lower or could buyers regroup and push prices higher? Let’s study the charts of the top 10 cryptocurrencies to find out.

On September 21, decentralized exchange (DEX) Uniswap launched an educational platform in conjunction with the blockchain education-focused Do Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO).

According to the announcement, Uniswap University aims to create a structured learning pathway for onboarding users to its V3 exchange via courses, simulation, and quick guides. Via the platform, users can gain knowledge on topics ranging from "What is a DEX?" to advanced topics such as "Strategy Backtesting Tools." Meanwhile, simulations such as adding/removing liquidity and exploring advanced position management tools allow users to gain quick practical experience.

In one advanced course, Uniswap teaches users the fundamentals of becoming a liquidity provider on V3. Developers wrote:

"In this chapter, we will explore several potential strategies that you, as a liquidity provider, can consider. These include holding (HODL) stable coins, maintaining 50% of two different tokens, possessing 100% of one token, providing wide range liquidity, providing narrow range liquidity, and supplying liquidity in volatile token pools. Each strategy comes with its own set of advantages and drawbacks."

Earlier this year, Uniswap's Business Source License expired, allowing developers to fork the Uniswap V3 protocol and deploy their own DEXs. Shortly after its launch in May 2021, Uniswap V3 surpassed Bitcoin (BTC) in terms of fee generation. Over $451 million worth of coins and tokens were traded on the Ethereum (ETH) mainnet of Uniswap V3 alone. 

Marieke Flament, CEO of Near Foundation, the developer of the namesake community layer-one protocol, has resigned.

According to the September 21 announcement, Chris Donovan, Near Foundation's general counsel, will replace Flament as the new CEO following the resignation. Flament gave no specific reason for her departure. Speaking on her tenure, Flament said: 

"Two years ago, I had never heard of NEAR. Upon doing a bit of research and after several conversations it became clear that NEAR had a tremendous potential – fantastic tech, a diverse and vibrant community and a world of open possibilities, and so I joined."

From 2021 to 2023, Flament claims that the daily active user count of Near Protocol grew from 50,000 to 3 million. Its Twitter followers also grew from 200,000 to over 2 million, citing more than 2,000 pieces of press coverage. Partnerships signed by Near during this period include SWEAT, Playember, Circle, Ledger, Alibaba, Amazon, Google, KPMG, Cosmose AI, SailGP, The Littles, PipeFlare, Shemaroo, Kakao Games, Inven / Vortex and Netmarble / Marblex in Korea.

In addition, Flament disclosed that the current treasury balance of the Near Foundation is 330 million NEAR, worth an estimated $350 million. Summing up her leadership strategy, Flament wrote:

Ethereum layer-2 scaling solution Optimism (OP) has disclosed plans to sell 116 million OP tokens to seven private buyers for treasury management purposes

At current prices, the sale will see $159 million worth of OP tokens change hands.

While some observers feared the sale would bring about depressed prices from Optimism “dumping” its tokens on the market, it seems unlikely that the sale of the tokens will have any material impact on the price of OP, due to the sale being private.

Additionally, the tokens are being sourced from the unallocated portion of the OP token treasury — meaning that they are not part of the circulating supply.

As explained on the Optimism website, the tokens are subject to a two-year lock up period, meaning that buyers are unable to sell them on secondary markets.