Bitcoin funding rates stay negative as BTC price spikes to $43.5K

Bitcoin (BTC) surged almost $1,000 in minutes during Jan. 12 as encouraging signs emerged from exchanges.

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD hitting $43,468 Wednesday, its highest since Jan. 6.

The pair had been due to continue volatile moves, traders said, with more and more favoring a push higher rather than a renewed downside.

This would likely come in the form of a “short squeeze” against latecomer shorters, they argued, and Wednesday’s sudden wick higher appeared to support the theory.

Funding rates across derivatives platforms stayed either neutral or negative during the volatility, further hinting that the market had been overly betting on fresh losses.

Reacting, popular trader and analyst Scott Melker, known as the “Wolf of all Streets,” reiterated his spot price targets for divesting back out of BTC. A reclaim of higher levels beyond $50,000 would then form a pivot for a market entry, he told Twitter followers.

https://twitter.com/scottmelker/status/1481231424892121096?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

In Tuesday’s YouTube update, meanwhile, Cointelegraph contributor Michaël van de Poppe flagged $43,000 as a potential springboard for a trip to $46,000, thanks to a lack of resistance in between.

“I’ve still got buy orders at $38,000; they will not be getting hit but I’ve been buying heavily here,” he said.

Wednesday’s upcoming United States consumer price index (CPI) data, due at 8:30 a.m. ET, could meanwhile provide fresh fuel for the fire should inflation fall outside of expectations.

Ethereum among major altcoin high flyers

Following on from Tuesday, altcoins capitalized on Bitcoin’s newfound strength.

Related: Bitcoin exchange outflows see biggest daily spike since September 2021

The top 10 cryptocurrencies by market cap added upwards of 4% on the day, led by Polkadot (DOT), Terra (LUNA) and Ether (ETH).

The latter was up over 5% at the time of writing, heading firmly away from $3,000 support. 

Previously, warnings had come for altcoins across the board, with tokens yet to experience “real pain” during the current drawdown.