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Bitcoin (BTC) tapped $40,000 after the Dec. 8 Wall Street open as United States employment data shrunk market bets on interest rate cuts.

Bitcoin holds firm as jobs data unsettles U.S. dollar

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView covered the latest BTC price action as risk assets reacted to the latest U.S. inflation cues.

Nonfarm payrolls came in above expectations at 199,000 versus 190,000, while unemployment was lower than forecast at 3.7% versus 3.9%, per an official release from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Both suggested that the full impact of Federal Reserve monetary tightening had yet to show itself, and while other data had already captured declining inflation, markets treated the labor figures nervously.

Data from CME Group’s FedWatch Tool nonetheless put the odds of anything other than a rate change freeze continuing at next week’s Fed meeting at practically zero.

Bitcoin (BTC) struggled to hold above $43,000 into Dec. 8 as an altcoin surge put Ether (ETH) in the spotlight.

ETH, SOL step up as Bitcoin takes liquidity

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed ongoing BTC price consolidation as ETH/USD added up to 7.6% in around 24 hours.

Bitcoin, having tapped new 19-month highs of $44,490 earlier in the week, now troubled market participants as both ETH and Solana (SOL) stole attention.

Eyeing Bitcoin’s share of the overall crypto market cap, popular analyst Matthew Hyland described recent progress as a potential “false breakout.”

Dominance hit 55.26% on Dec. 6, in line with the BTC price highs — the highest reading since April 2021.

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon is being hauled over the hot coals by the crypto community on X (formerly Twitter) after claiming Bitcoin (BTC) and cryptocurrency’s “only true use case” is to facilitate crime.

“The only true use case for it is criminals, drug traffickers, money laundering, tax avoidance,” Dimon said in a hearing before the United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs on Dec. 5. “If I were the government, I’d close it down.”

But crypto pundits quickly pointed out the hypocrisy in Dimon’s statements, highlighting that JPMorgan is the second-largest penalized bank, having paid $39.3 billion in fines across 272 violations since 2000, according to Good Jobs First’s violation tracker.

About $38 billion of these fines came under Dimon’s watch, who has been CEO since 2005.

“Talk about being a fucking hypocrite!” said crypto lawyer John Deaton in a Dec. 6 post on X. 

Bitcoin (BTC) has been on a tear, rising more than 10% this week. This shows that traders are urgently scrambling to buy Bitcoin as they anticipate the price to rally further. CoinShares data shows that investors have pumped in more than $1.44 billion into Bitcoin investment products in the past ten weeks.

The expectation is that the approval of a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) will attract huge investments. Animoca Brands CEO Robby Yung, while speaking at the Next Block Expo conference in Berlin, said that Bitcoin ETFs could generate a potential income of “$10 to $12 billion.”

While long-term investors have been accumulating Bitcoin, the short-term holders (STHs) holding coins for 155 days or less have been busy booking profits in December. CryptoSlate research and data analyst James Van Straten, while sharing a Glassnode chart on X (formerly Twitter), said that STHs in profit sent roughly $5 billion worth of Bitcoin to exchanges in the first four days of December.

Could Bitcoin continue its up-move and reach $48,000, or will profit-booking set in? Let’s analyze the charts of the top 10 cryptocurrencies to find out.

Bitcoin price analysis

Bitcoin has been in a strong uptrend. The momentum picked up after the bulls catapulted the price above $40,000. The minor resistance at $41,160 has been cleared with ease.

Debt Box and other defendants in a United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) lawsuit want the case tossed after a court found the agency lied to secure a temporary restraining order against them.

“The SEC got this case wrong. Badly wrong,” lawyers for Digital Licensing, which does business as Debt Box, told Judge Robert Shelby of the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah in a Dec. 4 motion to dismiss. “The SEC should not be allowed to continue to spin a false narrative to avoid dismissal.”

The SEC won a temporary restraining order to freeze Debt Box assets on Aug. 3, claiming the firm would remove evidence and secretly transfer assets overseas if they were notified the order would be imposed on them.

The agency accused the firm of perpetrating a $50 million fraudulent crypto scheme. Debt Box sold software mining licenses tied to real-world assets, which the SEC claimed were unregistered securities. The defendants refute this claim.

“Not only are such allegations false, but they also fail to meet the basic pleading standards,” it wrote in its latest motion.

PayPal’s introduction of its native stablecoin, PayPal USD (PYUSD), has sparked heated debates within the crypto industry regarding its possible sway on payments and wider crypto adoption.

While this step seems to be a big jump toward accepting cryptocurrencies in regular finance, some industry observers advise caution. They underline the hurdles and limitations that could slow down broader adoption.

What is PYUSD?

This initiative aims to bridge the fiat and digital currency realms for consumers, merchants and developers. PayPal CEO Dan Schulman highlighted the need for a stable digital-fiat conduit. PYUSD facilitates various transactions, including payments, fund transfers between PayPal and compatible external wallets, and crypto conversions:

“The shift toward digital currencies requires a stable instrument that is both digitally native and easily connected to fiat currency like the U.S. dollar. Our commitment to responsible innovation and compliance, and our track record delivering new experiences to our customers, provides the foundation necessary to contribute to the growth of digital payments through PayPal USD.” 

The coin is designed to mitigate payment frictions in virtual environments, expedite value transfer, and simplify digital asset engagement by being a safer alternative to the fluctuating nature of most cryptocurrencies.

Bitcoin (BTC)-related investment products have become the “main beneficiary” of recent investor interest in crypto amid growing anticipation of a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) approval in the United States.

A total of $1.76 billion of investors’ funds have flowed into crypto products over 10 weeks, making up the most significant inflows over such a period since October 2021 when Bitcoin futures launched, according to a Dec. 4 report from CoinShares’ head of research James Butterfill.

CoinShares’ weekly reports over the past 10 weeks show that at least $1.44 billion of inflows went to Bitcoin investment products over the period, with the price of Bitcoin jumping from $26,600 to $37,700 during the period.

Meanwhile, the week ending Dec. 1 saw $176.3 million worth of inflows into crypto investment products. Bitcoin investment products were the “main beneficiary,” said Butterfill, recording $132.8 million of inflows over the past week, while Ether (ETH) and Solana (SOL) products tallied $30.8 million and 4.3 million, respectively.

Related: Bitcoin prices should ‘logically’ correct in January, but crypto’s a ‘wild card’

Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) surged above their respective overhead resistance levels on Dec. 4, indicating that the bulls are in no mood to slow down. The higher the price goes without a meaningful correction, the greater the feeling of missing out among traders. When traders chase prices higher, it could lead to a blow-off top before a correction sets in.

Cryptocurrency exchange Bybit said in its 4th quarter report that institutional traders held 35% of their assets in Bitcoin, 15% in Ether and a large portion kept 45% of their assets are in stablecoins. Only a miniscule 5% was held in rest of the altcoins.

This shows that there is still enough firepower available with institutional investors to buy the cryptocurrency of their choice by selling stablecoins.

Matrixport research head Markus Thielen said in a recent note that the three previous crypto bear markets were followed by a three-year bull cycle, and this time is going to be no different, with 2023 being the first year. Thielen anticipates Bitcoin to reach $60,000 by April and $125,000 by the end of 2024.

Could bulls hold on to the gains in Bitcoin and select altcoins, or will higher levels attract aggressive selling by the bears? Let’s analyze the charts to find out.

Bitcoin (BTC) finally broke above the formidable resistance of $38,000 in the past week and marched closer to $40,000. This move shows that Bitcoin’s trajectory remains up. The bulls will try to maintain the momentum and achieve a strong close to the year, while the bears will try to pull the price down.

The major tailwind for Bitcoin is the expectation that the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will approve a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund as early as January. Swan Bitcoin CEO Cory Klippsten said in an interview with Bloomberg that the window for the approval for the spot Bitcoin ETF “seems to have been narrowed to January 8th, 9th, or 10th.”

Several analysts expect Bitcoin’s price to soar after one or more spot Bitcoin ETFs are greenlighted. However, traders need to look out for the sell-off after the initial knee-jerk reaction to the upside. The trend of selling into strength after the event has occurred is generally seen in legacy markets, leading to the popular adage “buy the rumor, sell the news.”

Could Bitcoin's rise near $40,000 boost buying in altcoins? Let’s look at the charts of the top 5 cryptocurrencies that may attract investors.

Bitcoin price analysis

Bitcoin rose and closed above the overhead resistance of $37,980 on Dec. 1, which completed the bullish ascending triangle pattern. This setup has a target objective of $41,160.

Chainlink (LINK) price has rebounded by over 240% from its yearly low of around $4.70 in June 2023. It may rise further still in the coming days and weeks, according to a slew of on-chain and technical indicators, as discussed below.

LINK price nears ascending triangle breakout

LINK's price has been consolidating inside what appears to be an ascending triangle pattern since November 2023.

Ascending triangles are bullish continuation patterns when formed during an uptrend. They resolve when the price breaks above the upper trendline and rises by as much as the maximum distance between the upper and lower trendlines. 

It appears LINK eyes a similar breakout scenario in December 2023, now treading around the triangle's upper trendline near $16. Suppose it rises decisively above the said resistance level. Then, its triangle breakout target will come to be over $19.50, up 20% from current price levels.

Thus, if it rises decisively above the said resistance level then its triangle breakout target will be over $19.50, up 20% from current price levels.

Bitcoin (BTC) rallied about 9% in November, with $38,000 proving to be a difficult obstacle to cross. Buyers have repeatedly tried to maintain the price above $38,000, but the bears have held their ground. Historically, December has been a mixed month. Coinglass data shows that in the past five years, Bitcoin rose only in 2020, but the extent of the rise at 46.92% was impressive. The bulls will try to replicate at least a part of that performance this year.

Entering into the new year, several analysts are bullish on Bitcoin. In a Nov. 28 research note, Standard Chartered said that the possibility of the earlier-than-expected approval of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds could boost the price of Bitcoin to $100,000 before end-2024.

Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz also sounded upbeat about Bitcoin while speaking to Bloomberg on Nov. 29. He said that the marketing team of asset managers whose ETFs are approved will try to convince people to invest in Bitcoin, which could boost adoption. Additionally, the Federal Reserve cutting rates may act as a further trigger that could send Bitcoin’s price near the all-time high by this time next year.

Could Bitcoin sustain above $38,000 and clear the path for a rally to $40,000, or will bears again play spoilsport?

Let’s analyze the charts of the top 10 cryptocurrencies to find out.