-
Ether,
solana
rallied
to
new
2023
highs
as
bitcoin
dipped
to
$43,000. -
Bitcoin
traders
fear
“bull
trap,”
growing
fear
could
propel
BTC
towards
$50,000,
Santiment
said.
Bitcoin’s
(BTC)
rally
halted
Thursday,
ceding
the
stage
to
cryptocurrency
majors
ether
(ETH)
and
solana
(SOL)
which
led
the
crypto
rally
after
surging
to
fresh
19-month
high.
BTC
dipped
to
$43,000
during
the
day
following
its
breakneck
climb
to
near
$45,000
earlier
this
week,
suggesting
that
traders
took
some
profits
after
the
largest
crypto’s
breakout
from
$38,000
a
week
ago.
Recently,
bitcoin
was
changing
hands
at
around
$43,300,
down
1.1%
over
the
past
24
hours.
ETH,
meanwhile,
popped
5%
over
the
same
period
and
hit
$2,372,
its
highest
level
since
May
2022.
Its
rally
drove
up
the
prices
of
other
ETH-adjacent
cryptocurrencies,
making
them
the
best
performers
of
the
day.
Ether
classic
(ETC)
appreciated
6%,
while
liquid
staking
protocol
Lido’s
governance
token
(LDO)
increased
by
over
11%.
Native
tokens
of
Ethereum
scaling
networks
Optimism
and
Arbitrum
also
gained
22%
and
9%,
respectively,
during
the
day.
Solana
(SOL)
jumped
over
8%
to
$69,
the
highest
since
May
2022,
following
a
three-week
cool-off
since
its
mid-November
local
top.
Arthur
Hayes,
crypto
investor
and
BitMex
exchange
founder
hinted
at
a
$100
price
target,
speculating
about
a
bullish
weekend
for
altcoins
in
social
media
platform
X
(formerly
Twitter)
post
on
Tuesday.
The
CoinDesk
Market
Index
(CMI),
which
tracks
a
market
capitalization-weighted
basket
of
almost
200
digital
assets,
was
slightly
up
0.6%.
Traders
fear
bitcoin
‘bull
trap’
Crypto
analytics
firm
Santiment
noted
that
BTC’s
flattening
price
coincided
with
traders
increasingly
calling
for
a
potential
“bull
trap,”
a
short-lived
rally
that
bates
investors
back
to
the
market
before
a
major
downtrend.
“Traders
are
fearful
that
crypto
markets
may
be
in
a
bull
trap
at
the
moment,”
Santiment
posted
on
X
(formerly
Twitter)
Thursday,
citing
social
media
metrics.
The
growing
disbelief
could
actually
help
propel
BTC
further
toward
$50,000,
Santiment
said,
squeezing
shorts
who
are
betting
on
lower
prices.
“FUD
fear,
uncertainty,
doubt
could
propel
BTC
to
$50K
if
it
increases,”
the
firm
added.