Altcoins rally led by XRP, ADA, and ETH as Bitcoin ticks up

Cryptocurrency markets opened the week on a muted recovery mode, taking several top-10 ranking tokens like BTC, XRP, ETH, and ADA up by more than 2%, alongside a cautious uptick in Asian equities, aided by the US Federal Reserve’s widely expected rate cut on Wednesday. 

Ethereum and Bitcoin have witnessed 2.8% and 3.5% price upticks, respectively, over the past 24 hours, both building momentum after a muted start to December. The coins traded firmer during Monday’s early Asian trading hours, supported by expectations that the Fed will cut interest rates by 25 basis points in its final meeting of the year.

Ripple’s XRP traded near $2.09 after a 2.8% day-to-day rise, continuing a tentative climb that came after weeks of heavy selling pressure from the broader crypto market. Other tokens like BNB added about 1.8%, while Solana climbed 3.7% to extend last week’s modest rebound and walk closer to its intraweek high of $145.

Cardano’s price struggles seem to have come to an end after it reversed a 1.4% downtick that briefly took it to $0.40 to climb back up to $0.43 on the day.

Despite the positive moves, CryptoQuant’s Bull Score, a metric used to gauge momentum changes in market cycles, fell to zero for the first time since early 2022. The analytics platform associates this reading with bearish market phases, suggesting investors are still in “fear” albeit the slight price recoveries.

Liquidity gaps could slow down the crypto market’s upward momentum

According to CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju, the market lacks fresh liquidity inflows that could prevent several coins from slipping into a deeper slowdown. In early December, Young Ju shared a chart on X that showed Bitcoin would be stuck in a broad consolidation zone between $55,000 and $70,000 next year, with volatility likely to persist around major macro events like Fed rate cuts.

“It is simple. If you think macro gets better next year, you buy. Otherwise, you sell. I’m not a macro expert, so find macro bros. New ETF inflows are the key. At this stage, it is more about being reactive than predictive. Set your scenarios and trade accordingly,” the CEO reckoned.

K33 Research had a slightly more optimistic medium-term view, expecting 401(k) rule changes by early 2026 to open the door for retirement accounts to allocate to Bitcoin. Although the group admitted it would take months to materialize, the legislative pro-Bitcoin influence could be enough to chase away the bears.

The recent rebound in Bitcoin is similar to patterns seen during prior cycle pullbacks in 2013, 2017, and 2021, according to analyst Alex Kuptsikevich. He said the market has already absorbed a substantial two-month drawdown leading into the December policy window, and that the king crypto’s current price chart trajectory is consistent with recovery periods seen at the end of the mentioned years.

CryptoQuant analysts Coindream see the current environment as a “healthy futures market” that only needs a trigger for the next bull run. Open interest in Bitcoin futures has dropped to its lowest level of the year, which could mean either investor capitulation or apathy, both of which precede opportunities for buyers seeking discounted entry points.

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