Bitcoin has gained 4.3% since the start of 2023 and has been stuck in the narrow range between $16,500 and $17,300 for quite some time now. Currently, the popular cryptocurrency is trading at $17,253. It gained 0.20% in the last 24 hours.
Ether, up by 1.27% in the last 24 hours, was trading at $1,327. It gained 9.13% in the last seven days, while the leading Bitcoin gained 3.12%. For the two top cryptocurrencies, analysts say the sooner the gap between inflation and the federal funds rate narrows, the sooner markets can see a move away from monetary tightening. This could eventually result in additional price momentum for Bitcoin and Ether.
Moreover, cryptocurrency spot trading volumes remain muted after it slumped about 48% in December compared to the previous month to $544 billion. According to CryptoCompare, this was their lowest level since December 2019. Arcane Research said lower trading volumes are common around the turn of the year, the crypto market apathy has been exacerbated by a general exodus of active retail investors.
Callie Cox, investment analyst at eToro, feels encouraged by the floor. He said the forming under Bitcoin shows that there is a lot of demand around $16,000 and $17,000 levels. Meanwhile, Marcus Sotirious, an analyst at GlobalBlock, highlighted the tightening Bollinger Bands on Bitcoin charts. He said the bands are at their tightest since July 2020 and such tightening has historically preceded aggressive moves to the upside for Bitcoin.
