The crypto market remains in prolonged consolidation with the overall market cap approaching $3 trillion as analysts eye a possible bitcoin (BTC) breakout that could push the market higher. Bitcoin hovered near $95,00 on Thursday, while ether (ETH), BNB Chain’s BNB and Solana’s SOL remained stagnant. XRP and Cardano’s ADA dropped 2%, while dogecoin (DOGE) fell 3%. Spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) lost $56 million on Wednesday, breaking an eight-day streak that saw nearly $3 billion flow into these U.S.-listed products. Markets have been generally range-bound in the past week, setting the course for what could be an explosive move higher, some say. “Such long consolidations usually accumulate strength for further movement. The next major trigger is likely to be Friday’s labour market data,” Alex Kuptsikevich, FxPro chief market analyst, told CoinDesk in an email. “For the past five days, the market has fluctuated in a very narrow range, with some tendency towards shallower declines. Still, it has been unable to exceed its 200-day moving average, which is now passing through $3.01 trillion. A global positive is needed for a breakout, but it would open the way to the $3.5 trillion area,” Kuptsikevich added, indicating strong movements in altcoins. Pat Zhang, head of research at WOO X, mirrored the sentiment. “BTC continues to experience volatility, forming a consolidation range between $93,000 and $95,000 since April 25, building momentum for a potential breakout,” he said in a Telegram message. “The average funding rate for BTC has been negative over the past week, which is rare, indicating intense whale activity both on and off exchanges,” Zhang added. Over the past two years, the financing rate for bitcoin contracts has been negative only four times, specifically during Sept. 19- Sept. 22, 2023, Oct. 20-Oct. 27, 2023, Aug. 16- Aug. 24, 2024, and Sept. 10- Sept. 17, 2024. “Following these periods of negative financing rates, BTC experienced strong upward trends, suggesting that whale accumulation could be positioning BTC for a potential upward move,” Zhang noted. Macroeconomic sentiment remains dented as traders globally eye the next steps made by President Donald Trump in the ongoing tariff tussles. Per Bloomberg, Trump acknowledged Wednesday that his tariff program had a perception problem and posed a significant political risk, but he remained determined to push on. He said “potential deals” with South Korea, India, and Japan were already in place and that a deal with China was progressing in his favor.
