In the ongoing bull market, two major stablecoins have issued an additional 10 billion dollars within 30 days

Author: Mary Liu, BitpushNews

As the halving approaches, Bitcoin started the week strong, soaring above $72,000 during early Monday trading, just under 3% away from its all-time high of $73,750. Market data shows that after trading near $69,400 over the weekend, Bitcoin bulls began to push higher early Monday, breaking through the resistance level of $71,000 and reaching a high of $72,780 shortly after 8 AM ET. At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at $71,845, with a 24-hour increase of 3.5%.

Other tokens that rose on Monday include Ethereum (up 8%), meme coin Dogwifhat (up 18%), and Pepe (up 10%).

Data released by Coinshares on Monday showed that digital asset investment products recorded an inflow of $646 million last week. Bitcoin-related investment products remain the focus, with a total inflow of $663 million, while short Bitcoin investment products saw outflows totaling $9.5 million for the third consecutive week, indicating a slight surrender from bearish investors.

James Butterfill, Head of Research at Coinshares, stated: "Year-to-date inflows have reached a record high of $13.8 billion, far exceeding the $10.6 billion in 2021."

On-chain analytics firm Santiment believes that ETF trading activity remains at a relatively active level. The company's analysts noted: "Bitcoin ETF trading volume has not slowed down after BTC broke new highs four weeks ago. In G BTC, IBIT, F BTC, ARKB, BTC O, BITB, and HODL, trader activity remains significantly higher than the turning point that began when retail trading surged at the end of February."

They added: "High activity should continue leading up to the halving on April 19, but it will be interesting to see whether ETF trading volume and on-chain trading volume will drop directly after the halving."

Stablecoin activity indicates bulls are preparing for a rebound

Markus Thielen, Head of Research at 10x Research, stated that while Bitcoin has been consolidating since early March, it may soon resume its upward climb.

In a market update on Monday, the analyst said: "After a significant bullish trend since January 25, we became cautious a month ago (on March 8) because, based on the market's technical setup, forward returns seemed unpredictable. Trading (cryptocurrencies) is about risk-reward and knowing when to increase or decrease bets; the past thirty days have indeed been a period of small bets. But this situation will change soon."

Thielen pointed out: "Bitcoin traded in a symmetrical triangle pattern last month, and according to some historical analysis, 75% of triangle patterns will see a continuation pattern (bullish) and higher prices."

Thielen stated that stablecoin trading volume can better predict future conditions, rather than just focusing on ETF flows or futures data.

He said: "In the past 30 days, we have seen ETFs record about $5 billion in net inflows, but more notably, Tether had a net inflow of $6.9 billion, and Circle minted about $3 billion, totaling $10 billion in new funds entering through stablecoins. While Bitcoin ETF flows have garnered media attention, the minting volume of stablecoins is twice that of ETFs and may only be bullish. We suggest reducing focus on Bitcoin ETF liquidity; stablecoin issuers are the ones to watch, as they will drive this market higher."

Thielen concluded: "Although we expressed concerns about weak ETF flows, the baton has been passed to stablecoins. Tether recorded a 7-day minting signal of $2.4 billion, one of the highest records since this bull market began. Fiat currency is accelerating into the cryptocurrency space, and with the symmetrical triangle breakout imminent, we are bullish."

Thielen's analysis indicates that based on the current pattern, the triangle formation will "meet" on April 18, and if there is a bullish breakout, Bitcoin could rise above $80,000 in the coming weeks. Buying at $69,280 and setting a stop-loss at $65,000 seems "appropriate."

Many cryptocurrency traders expect the Bitcoin halving event to be a key moment in 2024, significantly impacting the cryptocurrency market. However, analysts at Steno Research anticipate that it will be a "buy the rumor, sell the news" event. Steno Research expects BTC's value to soar before the halving event, but it may "drop below the price at the time of the halving" within the first 90 days after.

According to data provided by Alternative, with only 11 days remaining until the Bitcoin halving, sentiment in the crypto ecosystem remains in the "extreme greed" territory. The current total market capitalization of cryptocurrencies is $2.69 trillion, with Bitcoin's dominance at 52.4%.