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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.

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.

Bitcoin (BTC) tapped lows beneath $41,700 after the Dec. 15 Wall Street open as BTC price action fielded fresh sell-side pressure.

Bitcoin balks at SEC Coinbase rejection

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD diving over $1,300, or 3.2%, on the day.

The largest cryptocurrency, fresh from a recovery from snap volatility the day prior, failed to hold its ground at $43,000 as Bitcoin bulls were denied upside continuation.

BTC price weakness accompanied news that the United States Securities and Exchange Commission had refused a request by major exchange Coinbase to rework the rules for crypto.

“Today, the Commission denied a Petition for Rulemaking filed on behalf of Coinbase Global, Inc.,” a statement from SEC Chair Gary Gensler read.

Bitcoin (BTC) may enjoy a familiar tailwind in the coming weeks and even beyond if new macro forces continue to play out.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Dec. 14, popular trader Crypto Ed, founder of trading group CryptoTA, eyed multimonth lows in United States dollar strength.

Bitcoin trader targets sub-100 DXY dive

Bitcoin and dollar strength have in the past exhibited inverse correlation. While this has decreased recently, changes to U.S. macro policy are now broadly seen to boost Bitcoin but pressure the greenback going forward.

As Cointelegraph reported, the week’s macro data prints, combined with encouraging signals from the Federal Reserve, have analysts pointing the way to further crypto market upside in 2024.

This is thanks to declining inflation potentially allowing for the Fed to “pivot” on interest rate hikes, increasing liquidity to the benefit of risk assets.

Bitcoin (BTC) faced a sharp correction on Dec. 11, plummeting as much as 8% to a four-month low at $40,150, wiping out the gains of the past seven days. 

This drop in BTC’s price has triggered a marketwide reevaluation, prompting a debate on the potential for altcoins to spearhead the next significant rally in the cryptocurrency landscape.

Market experts and analysts believe the recent price crash is a part of the ongoing price cycle, and after two months of a bullish surge, a correction was inevitable.

Analysts’ insights into Bitcoin’s recent pull-back

Will Clemente, a crypto analyst and co-founder of Reflexivity Research, interpreted the market correction as a means to shake out weak positions and reduce the highly leveraged crypto markets, attributing this volatility to a necessary phase in market evolution.

Additionally, Kaleo, co-founder of the LedgArt nonfungible token (NFT) project, took to X (formerly Twitter) to express their belief that the recent downturn was “nothing more than a healthy correction after a massive parabolic extension.”

Bitcoin (BTC) and altcoins are a no-brainer bet in the current macro climate, Arthur Hayes says.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Dec. 14, the former CEO of exchange BitMEX said that investors have “no excuse” to short crypto.

$1 million Bitcoin still in play in 2024 "great pivot"

Going long crypto is the key to success as markets bet on the United States Federal Reserve lowering interest rates next year, Hayes argues.

On Dec. 13, at the latest meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), Fed policymakers voted to continue a freeze on interest rate hikes.

While broadly expected, a subsequent speech and press conference with Chair Jerome Powell sparked talk of impending rate cuts — an event known as a “pivot” in policy.

Bitcoin (BTC) is displaying fresh bull run signals as BTC price strength produces 7% daily gains.

BTC price bounces after snap sell-off

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView hints that upside momentum may continue as on-chain metrics reset.

Bitcoin “needed to cool off” after hitting $44,000 this month, analysis believes, and after a trip to near $40,000, conditions are improving.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Dec. 13, Philip Swift, creator of statistics resource Look Into Bitcoin, showed profit-taking surging as BTC/USD hit its latest 19-month highs.

He flagged the value days destroyed (VDD) multiple metric, which multiplies coin days destroyed by the current BTC price and that, on Dec. 11, hit its highest level since May 2021.

Since bottoming around $16,800, Bitcoin (BTC) has displayed resilience throughout 2023, posting over 153% gains year-to-date and 143% over the last 12 months to outperform major tech companies.

Despite this impressive performance, the flagship cryptocurrency’s price is still 39% below the all-time high (ATH) level against the U.S. dollar reached in November 2021.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin continues to hit new ATHs in Argentina, Turkey, Egypt, Nigeria, Lebanon and Pakistan.

According to the Dec. 13 post, at one point on Dec. 12, the price of 1 BTC reached ATHs against the Argentine peso at 15,176,100.12 pesos. BTC was worth 1,202,109.40 Turkish liras, 32,703,517.06 Nigerian nairas and 1,280,955.47 Egyptian pounds.

The chart also showed that BTC has reached ATHs against the Lebanese pound and the Pakistani rupee at 622,548,74.67 Lebanese pounds and 11,736,063.26 Pakistani rupees, respectively.

Bitcoin (BTC) recovered above $41,000 at the Dec. 13 Wall Street open as eyes focused on the United States Federal Reserve.

PPI target beat comes hours before Fed rate move

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC price strength gaining momentum on the latest U.S. macro data releases.

November’s Producer Price Index (PPI) print came in below expectations, further bolstering the extant narrative of declining inflation. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) print, while less encouraging, did not induce fresh pain for risk assets.

“This is the lowest PPI inflation reading since December 2021,” trading resource The Kobeissi Letter wrote in part of a reaction on X (formerly Twitter).

“Since the last Fed meeting, we have seen multiple favorable inflation prints. All eyes are on the Fed today and a potential hint of a ‘Fed pivot.’”

Bitcoin (BTC) speculators panic sold as the BTC price corrected toward $40,000, the latest on-chain data suggests.

Figures from on-chain analytics firm Glassnode show short-term holders (STHs) offloading more than $2 billion in BTC on Dec. 12 alone.

Bitcoin short-term holders set 18-month selling record

Bitcoin saw its biggest single-day drop of 2023 this week — one which at one point totaled 8.1%, data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView confirms.

Reacting, the more speculative subsection of the Bitcoin investor base followed in step, reducing their exposure in what appears to be a bout of cold feet on the market outlook.

Glassnode reveals that STHs, which constitute entities holding BTC for 155 days or less, sent $1.93 billion worth of coins to exchanges on Dec. 11, followed by another $2.08 billion the day after.

Bitcoin (BTC) price continues to trade below its 2023 high, a sign that investors may have underestimated the strength of the $44,000 resistance. Even as BTC price trades below $42,000, it doesn't necessarily mean that reaching $50,000 and beyond is no longer possible. In fact, quite the opposite seems more likely to occur. Looking at Bitcoin derivatives metrics, it is clear that traders ignored the 6.9% drop and remained optimistic. However, is this optimism enough to justify further gains?

The $127 million liquidation of leveraged long Bitcoin futures on Dec. 11 may seem significant in absolute terms, but it represents less than 1% of the total open interest – the value of all outstanding contracts. Nevertheless, it's undeniable that the liquidation engine triggered a 7% correction in less than 20 minutes.

Bitcoin’s crash was accelerated by derivatives, at least in the short-term

On one hand, one could argue that derivatives markets played a crucial role in the recent negative price movement. However, this analysis overlooks the fact that after hitting a low of $40,200 on Dec. 11, Bitcoin's price increased by 4.2% in the following six trading hours. In essence, the impact of forceful liquidation orders had dissipated long ago, disproving the notion of a crash solely driven by futures markets.

To determine if Bitcoin whales and market makers are still bullish, traders should examine Bitcoin futures premium, also known as the basis rate. Professional traders prefer monthly contracts due to their fixed funding rate. In neutral markets, these instruments trade at a premium of 5% to 10% to account for their extended settlement period.

Data reveals that the BTC futures premium barely fluctuated despite the 9% intraday price drop on Dec. 11, as it remained above the 10% neutral-to-bullish threshold throughout. If there had been significant excess demand for shorts, the metric would have at least dropped into the neutral 5% to 10% range.

AVAX, the native token of the Avalanche ecosystem has surprised the market, posting double-digit gains amid a drawback in the wider crypto space. AVAX token smashed through the $40 barrier on Dec.12 to reach an intra-day high of $43. At the time of publication, the layer 1 token trades at $38, up 12% over the last 24 hours and 123% over the last 30 days.

AVAX’s market cap soars 341% in two months

The latest rally has seen Avalanche’s total market value grow more from $3.25 billion when the recovery started in mid-October to the current value of $14.35 billion. This represents an increase of over $341% in just two months.

This is $1.06 billion more than Dogecoin’s $13.29 billion, flipping it to secure the ninth position on the CoinMarketCap ranking.

AVAX’s market capitalization has also increased by 200% over the last 12 months, from $4.04 billion recorded in December 2022.

AVAX is not the only crypto soaring within the Avalanche ecosystem. JOE (JOE) — the native token of Avalanche’s decentralized exchange Trader Joe, and QI – the native token of Avalanche’s liquid staking protocol Benqi, are also surging, with 5% and 20% gains respectively over the last 24 hours.

Bitcoin (BTC) should not worry traders after the biggest one-day drop of 2023 if one chart fractal plays out.

In a post on X (Twitter) on Dec. 12, popular trader Alan Tardigrade revealed uncanny similarities between Bitcoin now and four years ago.

Bitcoin “repeating” post-COVID uptrend

Bitcoin may be struggling to clear key long-term resistance, but one comparison suggests that it is “business as usual” for BTC price action.

Uploading a chart fractal from late 2019 through mid-2021, Tardigrade highlighted a Bitcoin bull market blueprint, which is now making a conspicuous return.

Since late 2022 — the most recent multi-year low for BTC/USD — price recovery has followed the 2020–2021 pattern practically move-for-move.

Bitcoin (BTC) faces an uphill struggle to reignite its uptrend after its biggest one-day losses of 2023.

The largest cryptocurrency continues to claw back lost ground after falling to lows of $40,200 after the Dec. 10 weekly close, the latest data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows.

With BTC price action taking a break from relentless gains — one which many argue was overdue — new key support and resistance levels are coming into play.

The coming days are already set to offer plenty of potential volatility triggers. United States macro data releases begin on Dec. 12, with the Federal Reserve interest rate decision and commentary from Chair Jerome Powell following a day later.

The stage is set for a showdown that may involve more than crypto markets.