Crypto market update: Bitcoin stalls, stablecoins and NFTs surge

Bitcoin Thanksgiving, DALL·E modified by Blockworks

Heading into a US holiday weekend (happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate!), let’s check in on the state of the crypto markets. As bitcoin struggles to sustain its meteoric rise toward $100,000, we find a hint of an “alt season,” a resurgence in NFT interest, and record-breaking growth in the stablecoin sector.

Bitcoin’s $100K Rejection and Market Volatility

The crypto market is due for a cooling-off period, as the Thanksgiving holiday usually sees dampened volatility in a 3-4% range.

Bitcoin briefly touched $99,500 last week, only to retreat to around $91,000, highlighting the asset’s historical pattern of sharp rallies followed by mini corrections. A $9,000 drop in a week feels like a lot, but on a percentage basis it’s still relatively minor.

Holding the top of the prior consolidation range from earlier in the month is undoubtedly constructive price action.

James Toledano, COO at Unity Wallet, attributes this pullback to profit-taking and the influence of put options at critical resistance levels.

“Crypto markets often see huge volatility due to a lack of a fundamental base for valuations,” Toledano told Blockworks. “Whenever there are oversized gains in a painfully short timespan, the pattern has been that there are usually oversized corrections, and history often has a habit of repeating itself,” he said, referencing past cycles where bitcoin surged dramatically before correcting by 50% or more. 

Despite the current dip, optimism remains high, buoyed by shifting political winds, such as a pro-crypto US Treasury and Commerce picks, and growing institutional interest.