Bitcoin Could Continue Chopping Below $95K Into Year-End and Altcoins Could Benefit, Analyst Says

Source: CryptoNewsNet Original Title: Bitcoin Could Continue Chopping Below $95K Into Year-End and Altcoins Could Benefit, Analyst Says Original Link: Bitcoin reversed its overnight climb to $94,000, dipping back to $92,000 during U.S. hours Thursday, continuing choppy rangebound action after the wild moves earlier in the week.

Ethereum held up relatively well, down only 0.7% on the day and trading above $3,100 in the afternoon hours. Among altcoins, XRP, Hedera (HBAR), BCH and privacy-oriented Zcash led the downside with 4-5% declines, while the broad-market CoinDesk 20 Index was 2% lower.

Choppy Trading Ahead

Despite the pullback, BTC continues to hold well above the support level established around $85,000 earlier this week, suggesting markets may be settling into a holding pattern as liquidity thins heading into year-end, according to Paul Howard, senior director of trading firm Wincent.

“We continue to see cryptocurrency prices closely correlated with global macroeconomic events,” said Howard. “While December is typically a low-liquidity month, we observe a higher floor has been set the past seven days around the $85,000 level.”

Without major new macro headlines, Howard expects more rangebound trading between $85,000 and $95,000 for the rest of the month. “There’s potential for some outperformance in altcoins, which typically do well in a low-liquidity, higher-volatility environment,” he added.

All Eyes on Japan

On the macro front, markets are entering December with eyes on the U.S. Federal Reserve and, more crucially, the Bank of Japan (BoJ).

According to Mark Connors, founder and chief macro strategist of bitcoin investment advisory Risk Dimensions, the BoJ’s rate decision is the “key event” this month, as it determines the future of the yen-funded carry trade, a strategy where investors borrow in yen to buy higher-yielding assets.

If the BoJ holds rates steady, as Connors expects, it could reignite demand for risk assets and provide a tailwind to equities, bitcoin and gold.