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Bitcoin is back above $96,000, recovering from its December 31 low to support at $92,000. Cryptocurrency markets are recovering from a correction, and altcoins are beginning to recover, with pro-crypto regulation and policy expected in the US in 2025.
We are less than three weeks away from the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, and this could impact cryptocurrency markets and altcoin prices. The three most important symbols in which fluctuations and price changes are expected to occur are Bitcoin (Bitcoin), Solana (Sol) and ripple (XRP).
On-chain metrics support gains in Bitcoin, XRP, and Solana
Open interest is usually considered an indicator of interest and demand for a cryptocurrency token among traders. Data from Santiment shows that there has been an increase in OI in Bitcoin, XRP, and Solana since the low on December 31.
Derivatives traders’ appetite for the three tokens increased during the first three days of January, supporting the bullish thesis.
Solana’s social dominance is on an upward trend. The token is registering increasing signals across social media platforms like X and a steady rise in the volume of SOL traded on exchanges. The Santiment chart below shows that the combined funding rate across derivatives exchanges has been positive over the past five days, which means there is optimism among traders.
XRP has noticed a decrease in the number of high-volume transactions, worth $100,000 and $1,000,000, since December 31. This is usually considered a negative sign because it shows that whales or holders of large wallets of the token are losing interest, but this may reduce or end the streak of profit taking in XRP.
The network’s profit/loss metric measures the net profit/loss achieved by all traders who transferred tokens on a given day. The NPL gauge shows flat profit taking since the first week of November. The roughly two-month long streak could end as whales slow down and reduce their XRP activity.
Bitcoin’s funding rate was positive during the last 10 days of December and the first three days of January 2025. With derivatives traders maintaining an optimistic outlook, whale transactions have taken a hit, and profit-taking activities of traders may decline, similar to XRP.
MicroStrategy’s declining NAV isn’t Bitcoin’s only concern
The flow of institutional capital into Bitcoin is on the decline. Data from Farside Investors shows that net inflows into US BTC ETFs have suffered since the last week of December 2024.
On Thursday, January 2, ETFs recorded a net outflow of $247.80 million.
With institutional investment acting as one of the biggest catalysts for a Bitcoin price rally in 2024, it remains to be seen how lower inflows impact the token in 2025.
MicroStrategy, one of the largest public shareholders in Bitcoin, has recorded a roughly 44% decline in its shares, from their peak. Following in the footsteps of the business intelligence firm led by Michael Saylor, many companies have adopted Bitcoin as a treasury asset, on a smaller scale. However, the demand generated by this narrative is waning.
The holiday, combined with the changing macroeconomic environment in the US, lower trade volume and stablecoin issuance, has negatively impacted the price of Bitcoin. The token remains firm above $96,000 and it remains to be seen how long it will take Bitcoin to retest its $100,000 milestone and new all-time high above $108,000.
Solana and XRP face hurdles amid hopes for ETF approval
Solana’s account of the meme coin has fueled gains in the token and positioned it as a competitor to the largest altcoin, Ethereum (Ethereum), slowly losing its strength. As airdrops decreased and network activity decreased, Solana noticed a decrease in on-chain activity on its chain.
Solana’s stablecoin market cap is another metric that continues to lag behind Ethereum, even as decentralized exchange metrics like volume and protocol revenue outperform Ethereum.
The SEC’s appeal of the Ripple lawsuit is still pending, with anticipation of the changing direction of cryptocurrency regulation and policy in the US, and traders remain hopeful that the new SEC chairman will be able to address the situation and potentially end the years-long legal battle that has… led down. XRP between 2020 and 2024.
Anticipation has large wallet investors holding between 100 million and 1 billion XRP tokens, adding more than 350 million XRP to their holdings during the first three days of January. Santiment data shows accumulation and supports the bullish thesis for the altcoin.
Technical analysis and objectives
The weekly Bitcoin price chart shows that BTC is in an upward trend. Technical indicators support BTC’s gains. The Moving Average Convergence Divergence green chart bars are flashing above the neutral line, which means there is an underlying positive momentum in the Bitcoin price direction, and the RSI is reading 66 and sloping upwards.
BTC could find support in the fair value gap between $81,500 and $89,376 if there is a correction in the largest cryptocurrency. The BTC/USDT weekly price chart shows that the token could test the $100,000 level and return to its all-time high if the upward trend continues.
XRP is currently nearly 20% away from its peak of $2.9092, recorded in 2024. The altcoin is facing resistance at the December 9 high of $2.6076, as shown in the weekly XRP/USDT price chart. The imbalance zone between $1.63 and $2.17 could serve as support for XRP if there is a correction in the XRP price.
The Relative Strength Index (RSI) currently indicates that the altcoin is overvalued. However, the MACD indicator indicates that there is an underlying positive momentum in the XRP price direction.
Solana’s weekly chart shows the altcoin in an uptrend and close to $231.62, which is the 78.6% Fibonacci retracement level of its rise from the lows of $110 to the highs of $264.59. The $200 level remains a key milestone for SOL.
SOL is currently about 12% below the nearest resistance, and the October 28 high of $183.38 is supporting the token. The RSI is sloping upward and reading 56, and the MACD shows that the underlying momentum in the SOL price direction may have turned negative.
Pump.fun keeps dumping SOL tokens
On-chain analysis from Lookonchain shows that Pump.fun, the launchpad on Solana, continues to unload its holdings of SOL tokens. On January 3, the wallet linked to the launchpad deposited 292,437 SOL (worth over $55 million) to Kraken and sold approximately $42 million in SOL tokens.
On Friday, the launchpad wallet deposited 63,171 Sol (worth over $13 million) into Kraken.
Pump.fun’s SOL token dump could increase selling pressure on the altcoin if the launchpad does not end its streak soon. Traders need to monitor whale activity and Solana supply on exchanges to predict any upcoming correction in SOL price.
Disclosure: This article does not constitute investment advice. The content and materials contained on this page are for educational purposes only.
