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Bitcoin (BTC) preserved its active trading range into the Feb. 1 Wall Street open as markets looked to the day’s key macroeconomic data.

$23,500 becomes the level to beat for Bitcoin bulls

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView followed BTC/USD as it continued to move in a narrow corridor around $23,000.

An upcoming interest rate hike and commentary from the United States Federal Reserve preoccupied traders across risk assets, potentially sparking fresh volatility in line with previous months.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell was due to speak at 2:30 pm Eastern Time on the day.

On the Binance order book, resistance shifted higher on the day, broadening price targets in the event of a catalyst moving the market.

Bitcoin (BTC) hovered around $23,000 on Feb. 1 after sealing its best January performance in 10 years.

End of Bitcoin bear market is “default view”

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView confirmed a monthly close of around $23,100 for BTC/USD — its highest since July 2022.

The largest cryptocurrency finished the first month of the year up 39.6%, according to statistics from Coinglass.

The impressive performance emboldened bulls, many of whom had kept the faith despite mass misgivings from more conservative market participants.

“Bitcoin closes with a Monthly swing low,” trader, entrepreneur and investor Bob Loukas reacted.

Bitcoin (BTC) had a rough time all throughout 2022.

But fresh on-chain and futures market data show positive signs that the leading cryptocurrency by market capitalization has started to recover.

After a bevy of short liquidations, the futures market is pointing toward renewed equilibrium. According to data from Glassnode, short position liquidations cleared out unhealthy market speculators, on-chain and exchange data now point to an improving spot market and exchange netflows.

A large group of investors that were previously at a loss is now back in the category that Glassnode analysts label as “unrealized profits.”

Massive short liquidations set the groundwork for new investors to thrive

Futures data typically hold an equilibrium between longs and shorts. As the market moves, investors tend to update their futures to avoid liquidation. Conversely, in mid-January, investors were caught off guard which resulted in an all-time high of 85% short liquidations.

There are rumors that Dogecoin could switch from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake (PoS). 

Do I know if Dogecoin is switching to PoS?

No.

Do I think it’s going to PoS? Probably not.

But I love the “what if” game.

The rally in cryptocurrency markets started in early January with a spike in heavily-shorted altcoins and Ethereum (ETH) liquid staking derivative (LSD) tokens due to the upcoming network upgrade in March. Soon gains started to show across the board as buyers started to play catch up. 

The improving macroeconomic conditions, such as reduced inflation and a stable job sector in the United States, provided additional tailwinds for the positive rally. Bitcoin (BTC) is en route to its most impressive closing for January since 2013. Its price has gained 40% year-to-date from the opening value of $16,530.

Another important catalyst for January’s rally was a short squeeze across the crypto market. After the FTX debacle and the lack of bullish narratives for the niche space, most investors expected growth to slow down in 2023.

There are unresolved issues such as potential Digital Currency Group fallout, geopolitical tension between Russia and Ukraine and recession risks due to the Fed’s aggressive quantitative tightening policies. Thus, most traders didn’t expect strong price rallies so early inthe year.

As it turns out, negative sentiment and crowded positions in the futures market continued to fuel more upside. There’s a strong chance of a pullback soon after steep gains. It remains to be seen if the pullback levels are attractive enough for buyers to turn it into a medium-to-long-term bullish trend. Let’s take a look at the top performing cryptocurrencies for January.

Bitcoin (BTC) rose above $23,000 into the Jan. 31 Wall Street open as markets braced for a fresh macroeconomic reckoning.

Trader: $25,000 “best case” for BTC/USD

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD gaining around 1% in a single hourly candle before the start of trading, overcoming resistance in place overnight.

With hours to go until the monthly close, the pair remained around $800 short of its weekend highs, which, at $23,950, marked Bitcoin’s strongest performance since mid-2022.

Inspecting the status quo, however, traders were unconvinced that the largest cryptocurrency would produce further gains in February.

January had produced upside of over 40%, making it Bitcoin’s best first month of the year since 2013.

Bitcoin (BTC) is rapidly regaining its lost dominance in the crypto market so far into 2023.

On Jan. 30, Bitcoin accounted for 44.82% of the total crypto market capitalization, the highest since June 2022. In September 2022, Bitcoin's dominance index was as low as 38.84%.

The index typically rises when most crypto investors reduce their exposure to smaller tokens and seek safety in Bitcoin. The reasons include Bitcoin's better liquidity and lower volatility than alternative cryptocurrencies, or altcoins, primarily in a bear market.

Bitcoin's market dominance to grow further?

As of Jan. 31, Bitcoin is up 38% year-to-date (YTD) at around $23,000. In comparison, the second-largest cryptocurrency, Ether (ETH), gained 30% in the same period, showing most investors remain gravitated toward Bitcoin so far in 2023.

From a technical perspective, the Bitcoin dominance index may rise further in the coming weeks as it reclaims its 50-week exponential moving average (the red wave in the chart below) as support.

Bitcoin (BTC) swapped bullish gains for chop into Jan. 31 as the end of the month saw nervous price action.

$46 million of longs liquidated

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView tracked a less confident BTC/USD as it briefly wicked to just above $22,500 on Bitstamp overnight.

A rebound saw the pair flip $23,000 to short-term resistance, and was still trading below that level at the time of writing.

The stakes remained high for traders, long and short, with the monthly close just hours away. This was followed by interest rate decisions from the United States Federal Reserve on Feb. 1, along with the European Central Bank a day later.

With volatility likely lying in wait, liquidations mounted despite Bitcoin maintaining a fairly narrow trading range.

Bitcoin mining stocks usually follow BTC’s price because it directly influences the company's earnings. These stocks were beaten down heavily in the last quarter of 2022, especially in the month of December. The downturn after FTX's collapse worsened with the bankruptcy filings of the largest U.S.-based Bitcoin mining company, Core Scientific.

During this time, other mining stocks, like Marathon Digital Holdings (MARA) in the chart below, exhibited a weak correlation with Bitcoin’s price, suggesting that December’s downturn was probably overblown.

The negative trend reversed at the start of 2023 as most mining stocks posted impressive gains. The Hashrate Index mining stock index, which tracks the average price of publicly listed mining and hardware manufacturing companies, increased by 62.5% year-to-date. The positive price spike also restored the strong correlation between BTC price and mining stocks.

However, the mining industry remains under stress, with low-profit levels expected for prolonged periods. Since Q2 2022, mining companies have funded operations selling BTC from reserves, selling newly mined BTC, raising debt and issuing new shares. Unless Bitcoin’s price consolidates above $25,000, the industry will likely witness a few takeover attempts or further treasury sales to pay off debt.

Some mining companies are operating at a loss

Currently, the top mining companies' price-to-earnings (PE) ratio is negative, suggesting that they're operating at a net loss, making their stock prices vulnerable to steep downturns.

Bitcoin (BTC) struggled to maintain bullish momentum on Jan. 30 as the countdown to the monthly close kept the market nervous.

BTC price sees flash dip below $23,000

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD coming off its latest highs at just below $24,000 on the day.

These, while Bitcoin’s best performance for nearly six months, encountered problems with staying power as the week began, with pre-Wall Street trading seeing a brief trip below $23,000.

At the time of writing, Bitcoin traded at around $23,250 as United States equities limped into the final few days of January.

Among the topics of interest for analysts was the CME Bitcoin futures gap from the weekend getting swiftly “filled” by spot.

Bitcoin (BTC) starts a key week with a familiar cocktail of price spikes mixed with fear that the bear market will return.

After sealing its highest weekly close in almost six months, BTC/USD remains over 40% up year-to-date, with the monthly close just 48 hours away — can the gains hold?

Against all odds, Bitcoin has rallied beyond expectations this month, making January 2023 its best in a decade.

Throughout, concerns have called for an imminent comedown and even new macro BTC price lows as disbelief swept the market.

That grim turnaround has yet to come to fruition and the coming days could yet turn out to be a crucial period for Bitcoin’s long-term trend.

Bitcoin (BTC) has rallied nearly 40% so far in January, which is the best start to the year since 2013. The sharp up-move has turned several on-chain signals bullish, according to on-chain analyst Cole Garner.

Usually, a sharp recovery from the market lows, driven by the leader, is a sign that strong hands may be buying aggressively. That could be because traders believe the selling may have been overdone in the near term or they found the valuation to be attractive.

After the initial runup, a swift correction could be expected, which will shake out the weak hands. The next fall will also confirm whether Bitcoin has formed a bottom or not. If the low is confirmed, several altcoins may start to outperform Bitcoin in the near term.

Which altcoins are showing promise in the near term? Let’s study the charts of Bitcoin and select altcoins to see which could extend their up-move in the next few days.

BTC/USDT

Bitcoin has been trading above $22,800 since Jan. 25, which suggests that bulls are trying to flip the level into support.

Bitcoin (BTC) spiked into key liquidity for a third time into Jan. 29 as the weekly and monthly closes loomed.

Trader on Bitcoin: $25,000 "in sight"

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD briefly hitting $24,498 on Bitstamp overnight.

The move, although short lived, marked the pair's third such attempt to take sell-side liquidity above $23,400 in recent days.

In each instance, bulls appeared to lack momentum to reclaim new support levels, and at the time of writing, the status quo remained the same, with Bitcoin trading just below liquidity at $23,250.

Previous order book data from Binance uploaded to Twitter by monitoring resource Material Indicators demonstrated the firepower needed to neutralize bears.

Commentators believe that Bitcoin (BTC) bulls do not need to wait long for the United States to start printing money again.

The latest analysis of U.S. macroeconomic data has led one market strategist to predict quantitative tightening (QT) ending to avoid a “catastrophic debt crisis.”

Analyst: Fed will have “no choice” with rate cuts

The U.S. Federal Reserve continues to remove liquidity from the financial system to fight inflation, reversing years of COVID-19-era money printing.

While interest rate hikes look set to continue declining in scope, some now believe that the Fed will soon have only one option — to halt the process altogether.

“Why the Fed will have no choice but to cut or risk a catastrophic debt crisis,” Sven Henrich, founder of NorthmanTrader, summarized on Jan. 27.

Bitcoin (BTC) remains firmly “bullish” at $23,000, according to new on-chain metrics from one of the industry’s best-known names.

In a preview on Jan. 28, market cyclist and on-chain analyst Cole Garner revealed what he said were “backtested and validated” Bitcoin trading tools.

Garner: BTC price signals should excite bulls

While BTC/USD attempts to push through liquidity above $23,000, the debate rages as to whether a significant BTC price correction is due.

For Garner, who offered a snapshot of several trading signals to Twitter users at the weekend, there is no doubt — the picture is firmly green.

“They are looking so bullish right now,” he summarized in part of accompanying commentary.

Despite the recent negative crypto and macroeconomic newsflow, the total cryptocurrency market capitalization broke above $1 trillion on Jan. 21. An encouraging sign is that derivatives metrics are not showing increased demand from bearish traders at the moment. 

Bitcoin (BTC) price gained 8% on the week, stabilizing near the $23,100 level at 18:00 UTC on Jan. 27 as the markets weighed the potential impact of Genesis Capital's bankruptcy on Jan. 19.

One area of concern is Genesis Capital's largest debtor is Digital Currency Group (DCG), which happens to be its parent company. Consequently, Grayscale funds management could be at risk, so investors are unsure if the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) assets could face liquidation. The investment vehicle currently holds over $14 billion worth of Bitcoin positions for its holders.

A United States appeals court is set to hear the arguments relating to Grayscale Investment's lawsuit against the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on March 8. The fund manager questioned the SEC's decision to deny their asset-backed exchange-traded fund (ETF) launch.

Regulatory concerns also negatively impacted the markets after South Korean prosecutors requested an arrest warrant for Bithumb exchange owner Kang Jong-Hyun. On Jan. 25, the Financial Investigation 2nd Division of the Seoul Southern District Prosecutor's Office sentenced Kang and two Bithumb executives on charges of conducting fraudulent illegal transactions.

Aptos’ APT reached a new all-time high of $20.39 after posting gains exceeding 400% since the start of 2023. While the rally could just be a pump-and-dump event due to the perception of weak fundamentals, increasing negative sentiment toward the token will likely fuel the prices in the short term.

Let’s explore some of the factors that could be propelling the Aptos price rally.

A rich history and strong investor backing

Aptos is a byproduct of Facebook’s attempt with the Libra blockchain, which regulators forcibly shut down. Two of Libra’s leadership team members, Mo Shaikh and Avery Ching, later found Aptos, a decentralized version of the abandoned blockchain project.

The project is based on the Move programming language and introduces a new class of layer-1 blockchains that will compete against the likes of Solana and Cardano. The primary reasons behind the tailwinds for the APT token include investors’ hope for a technological breakthrough that could finally provide a scalable, secure, decentralized blockchain.

Aptos raised $350 million in 2022, which included a $200 million seed round led by Andreessen Horowitz and a $150 million Series A funding round led by FTX Ventures and Jump Crypto. Later, Binance made a follow-on strategic investment to help boost the Aptos ecosystem.