Bitcoin price remains rangebound but several altcoins that have seen sharp rallies are now witnessing profit-booking.
Bitcoin (BTC) has been holding its yearly gains, but is finding it difficult to break above its 17-month highs of $44,700 set earlier this month. This suggests that the market participants are not loading up aggressively prior to the decision on the spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) applications in January.
It is difficult to predict the response of the traders even if one or more spot Bitcoin ETFs are approved. A lack of solid demand for the ETFs after approval may turn it into a "sell the news" event, while a strong inflow into the ETFs in the first few days could result in a spike in Bitcoin’s price.
The uncertainty about Bitcoin’s short-term price action has boosted buying interest in altcoins. That is one of the reasons for the drop in Bitcoin’s dominance from about 55% to 51% in the past few days.
