Bitcoin's record rally topped $107,000

By Jonathan Cordoba

Tuesday 12-17-2024

Bitcoin's record rally topped $107,000 this past Monday after President-elect Donald Trump reiterated that he plans to create a U.S. bitcoin strategic reserve similar to its strategic oil reserve, stoking the enthusiasm of crypto bulls.

Investor sentiment also got a lift from the inclusion of MicroStrategy MSTR.O into the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 index that will likely lead to more inflows for the software firm turned bitcoin buyers as well as positive sentiment for the rest of the crypto market.

I truly believe we are in the blue sky territory here. I am aligning myself with many other analysts that the next figure for BTC the market will be looking for is $110,000-$125,000. The pullback that a lot of people were waiting for just didn't happen, because now we've got this news and have a lot to look forward to. This is a big thing for BTC. Most who are not involved in BTC let a lone Blockchain have no idea what is coming next.

Bitcoin and crypto have been catapulted into the spotlight as investors wager the Trump administration will usher in a friendlier regulatory environment, boosting sentiment around the alternative currency. Bitcoin is up about 150% in 2024 so far and with Elon Musk running a D.O.G.E. Department of Government Efficiency program, we truly believe there will be a lot of play action within the crypto market in general with a potential of $1-$10 per DOGE Coin.

Governments around the world held roughly 2.2% of bitcoin's total supply, according to data gathered from CoinGecko, with the United States possessing nearly 200,000 bitcoins and slowly increasing on the state and federal levels. This amount at current prices is valued at more than $20 billion. A pretty sizeable collection of BTC.

China, UK, Bhutan and El Salvador are the other countries with a significant amount of bitcoins, data site BitcoinTreasuries showed. Other countries have also been considering cryptocurrency strategic reserves. Even Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier this month said the current U.S. administration was undermining the role of the U.S. dollar as the reserve currency in the global economy by using it for political purposes, forcing many countries to turn to alternative assets, including cryptocurrencies.

"For example, bitcoin, who can prohibit it? No one," Putin said.

There are skeptics though, with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell likening bitcoin to gold earlier this month. Analysts also point out that any such move will take time to implement.

"I think we still need to be cautious on a BTC strategic reserve, and at least consider that this is not likely to happen anytime soon," said Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone.

"Of course, any comment from Trump that offers an increased degree of hope that plans for a strategic reserve are evolving are an obvious tailwind, but this would come with consequences which would need to be carefully considered and well telegraphed to market players."

Crypto boost

Bitcoin has surged more than 50% since the last 60 days and the election that saw Trump get elected along with many other pro-crypto candidates we are sure to see a surge. The total value of the cryptocurrency market has almost doubled over the year so far to hit a record over $3.8 trillion!

Trump - who once labeled crypto a scam - embraced digital assets during his campaign, promising to make the United States the "crypto capital of the planet." Bitcoin is up about 150% year to date, and bitcoin ETFs have seen $9.3 billion in inflows since the election, according to FactSet data. The $110,000 level is seen as the next key price point, as crypto bulls aim to end the year with price stability above $100,000, setting up confidence headed into 2025.

Last week, Martin Leinweber, director of digital-asset research and strategy at MarketVector Indexes, told MarketWatch’s Frances Yue that bitcoin’s current rally cycle could top out around $150,000 next year. Leinweber based that estimate on historical data, forecasting a cycle peak of 2.3 times bitcoin’s price at the rally’s start in early November, which was about $67,000. He warned, however, that bitcoin could see turbulence before that peak, with the potential for double-digit declines before recovering.

Late last week, Trump told CNBC’s Jim Cramer that the U.S. will become the global leader in cryptocurrency, and again suggested he would build a strategic reserve of bitcoin. The incoming Trump administration is expected to be much more crypto-friendly than the current administration, with less regulatory scrutiny, and cryptocurrencies have surged over the past month-plus on that optimism.

XRP Price Crosses $2.50 in Anticipation of RLUSD Launch

XRP has fallen since its yearly high of $2.90 on Dec. 3.

• Ripple’s stablecoin RLUSD will launch on Dec. 18.
• Can XRP begin another upward movement to new highs?

RLUSD Launch

There is positive XRP sentiment regarding the release of RLUSD tomorrow , Dec.18. RLUSD will launch on the XRP ledger and the Ethereum blockchain. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse tweeted the news, announcing that it will trade in several exchanges such as Uphold, Moon Pay, and Bitso and teasing launches in Bitstamp and Zerohash.

The RLUSD stablecoin is described as an enterprise-grade USD-Denominated stablecoin. Ripple has committed to publishing monthly attestations of RLUSD’s reserve assets conducted by an independent auditor.

As per the announcement , RLUSD will facilitate cross-border payments, integrate with decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols, and provide collateralization for trading tokenized real-world assets (RWA). XRP Price Aims for a Breakout

The 4-hour chart of XRP/USD presents a clear bullish trend over the past several weeks, punctuated by a strong upward move marked with a green arrow. This sharp rally pushed the price of XRP from the $1.6-$1.8 range to a peak of just under $3.2 before facing strong selling pressure that led to a correction.

Following this correction, the price of XRP entered a sideways consolidation phase, as shown by the purple rectangular box. This range-bound movement highlights price stabilization between $2.2 and $2.6, suggesting a period of accumulation after the explosive rally, according to data from GeckoTerminal.

However, the breakout above the consolidation box in the latest candlestick signifies a potential resumption of the uptrend, fueled by a surge in volume. This breakout is a significant pattern, as it typically indicates increasing buying pressure and the possibility of another upward leg.

The 50-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) ($2.3767) is acting as dynamic support, consistently following the upward trend of price. The price remains well above the 50-MA, confirming the bullish short-term trend. The 200-day SMA ($1.6860) is far below the current price, reinforcing the overall bullish sentiment. This gap between the 50-day SMA and 200-day SMA indicates strong momentum and no signs of trend reversal.

Meanwhile, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) is currently at 60.95, which is in a neutral-to-bullish zone. This level indicates moderate strength without being overbought, providing room for further upward movement. Previously, the RSI hit overbought levels near the sharp rally, leading to the correction. The current RSI suggests that momentum is building without signs of exhaustion.

The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) line (0.0063) and the signal line (0.0243) are close to crossing above the baseline. While the MACD histogram shows minimal positive momentum, the breakout in price and increasing volume may drive the MACD higher in the near term. A bullish crossover would confirm further upward momentum.

Key Takeaways

• The XRP price increased 280% in November.
• It became the third-largest cryptocurrency.
• I HAVE A PRICE TARGET OF $5 -$7.50 for this cycle on XRP - WHAT ABOUT YOU?