BTC price up 160% in 2023 — 5 things to know in Bitcoin this week. After testing support, Bitcoin (BTC) rises to $43,177, starting the Christmas holidays. A year with a Bitcoin/USD rise of almost 160% can bring volatility, even in the final week of 2023. Bitcoin is nearing the chart checkpoint with price activity from $40,000 to 19-month highs of $44,730. Bitcoin bulls may be proud of the past year. The network has increased significantly, mining difficulty and hash rate have hit record highs, and miner profitability has changed dramatically.
On-chain measures have also significantly turned optimistic, suggesting the current bull market is only beginning. Bitcoin and crypto investors will be affected by the first U.S. spot price ETF and the upcoming block subsidy halving. BTC.com expects the early January update to make mining harder than before.
At Christmas, the Bitcoin Price Cuts to a Crux of $43,000
Price activity in Bitcoin finally brought fresh volatility, approaching the weekly close after days of sideways trade. Information gathered from TradingView indicates that Bitstamp’s value dropped below $42,700 but rose slightly to over $43,000.
Credible Crypto, a well-known trader and analyst, used this information to predict that Bitcoin will retest that area before its next upward leg begins over the weekend. The $43,000 mark is contentious because several prominent analysts, including trader Crypto Chase, believe that bulls would eventually lose pace beyond that milestone. With the impending ETF approval expected to signify the local top before “reality” sets in, Crypto Chase added to shorts at $43,000 earlier in December.
The notion that approval day will be a “sell the news” event has reportedly gained traction, especially among professional trading firms. Last week’s market update states, “For this reason, we expect topside resistance for BTC in the 45-48.5k region and a possible retracement to 36k levels before the uptrend resumes.”
In 2023, Bitcoin Makes a Usual Comeback
But looking back at 2023, Bitcoin’s progress is undeniable. With 60% gains in Q4 alone, according to figures, the BTC/USD pair has risen more than 160% from the yearly open. Despite failing to replicate the breakout beyond all-time highs seen in 2020, Bitcoin has had its most excellent December to date, with gains of 15% so far. This resurgence has been great news for long-term holders, who reportedly have been adamant about not selling Bitcoin despite its longest-ever bear market.
This trend has persisted even though prices have been moving in an “up-only” fashion this year, with slight consolidations dampening the upside according to the most recent edition of “The Week On-Chain,” published on December 19, the on-chain analytics business Glassnode noted that the 2023 market has been notable for the extremely thin depth of all price pullbacks and corrections.
As pointed out by Glassnode, this is not at a level that would cause widespread selling and jeopardize the upswing. Still, it has returned all Bitcoin investor cohorts to aggregate profitability. Profitability now mirrors mid-2019, when Bitcoin witnessed a mid-cycle high, according to academics who examined the Net Unrealized Profit/Loss (NUPL) statistic. The summary stated that while the NUPL metrics for each cohort are not yet at euphoric highs, they are comfortably above the break-even point for that cohort. Meanwhile, the current all-time high for Bitcoin/USD is $45,000, 37% below that price.
Macro Markets Complete a Year of Rate Hikes
BTC price in 2023: There is little anticipated in the way of catalysts for risk assets caused by macroeconomic volatility during this normally calm holiday week. U.S. unemployment claims, the final data point of interest for the year, are due on December 28, so the markets will be quiet for most of 2023. As a result, investors are holding out hope that next year will see significant shifts in macro policy. The Federal Reserve must now decide how quickly to start a “pivot” away from interest rate hikes and when to do it. According to the FedWatch Tool, a product of CME Group, markets are still not convinced that the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) will reduce rates at their upcoming meeting on January 31.
How Good are Bitcoin Miners?
Network fundamentals are, undoubtedly, the most critical factor in Bitcoin’s success tales of 2023. With the next halving only a few months away, the trend of hash rate and difficulty providing a rags-to-riches metamorphosis is not going away. BTC.com expects the early January update to make mining harder than before. Problem reached 72 trillion after the most recent adjustment, which witnessed an increase of roughly 7%—the fourth-highest increase of 2023. When miners’ profits skyrocket, they unleash a deluge of processing power, which drives up the hash rate. Midway through December, according to statistics from Glassnode, their income from fees reached 37%, thanks to the existence of ordinal inscriptions, which significantly increased their earnings in the second part of the year.
The reward per block will be cut in half, according to some experts, and miners are attempting to hoard Bitcoin in anticipation of the halving. Despite the apparent resurgence of miners, Glassnode’s lead on-chain analyst, Checkmate, has learned a grim lesson. He lamented that last week’s best time to accumulate Bitcoin was years ago, admitting that he bought during the bull market’s peak in 2017.
This Christmas, Greedy for Gains
BTC price in 2023: Although Bitcoin price gains are slowing down as the year winds down, the ordinary investor is still primarily driven by greed. The prevalent attitude gauge known as the Crypto Fear & Greed Index has reached its conclusion for 2023. It predicted that Bitcoin’s value would end the year at levels last seen at its all-time high of $69,000 two years ago.
As of December 25, the Index, which considers several variables to determine the typical attitude of crypto investors, is squarely in the “greed” category with a score of 73 out of 100. According to reports, the bull market’s longevity should not be a concern at this time when looking at it from the perspective of fear and greed. Only when readings surpass 90/100, have market macro market turnarounds occurred in previous price cycles.