Bitcoin remained confined within its monthly range this week, trading between $93,902 – $99,244, as several bearish catalysts kept bulls from pushing it toward six-digit territory.
Although the total crypto market cap dipped to a weekly low of $3.2 trillion, it managed to recover above the $3.3 trillion mark by late Friday, as traders found some relief amidst signs of a more accommodating regulatory environment in the US.
Riding that wave of optimism, market sentiment also showed signs of life, climbing into the green at 55 by late Asian trading hours on February 21—its highest level since early February.
The market seemed to be falling in line with the historical trend of the second half of February being bullish for both Bitcoin and the broader crypto market.
According to Coinglass data, on average, February has delivered solid returns, with Bitcoin typically posting gains of around 12% over the years.
Source: Coinglass
The altcoin market followed a similar trajectory, with several top tokens recording notable weekly gains.
Why was Bitcoin down this week?
A number of bearish catalysts kept Bitcoin prices subdued over the past week.
First, the Federal Reserve minutes reinforced a hawkish stance, prompting traders to hold back amid fears that rate cuts could be delayed even further.
Persistent inflation shifted market sentiment, with the odds of a March rate cut dropping to just 2.5%, according to CME’s FedWatch Tool early in the week.
However, tensions eased a bit after the release of the Federal Reserve’s January meeting minutes.
Policymakers hinted at possibly pausing or slowing their balance-sheet reduction program due to debt-ceiling concerns.
Still, the Fed maintained its benchmark policy rate between 4.25% and 4.5%, with many officials noting that rates could remain at restrictive levels if the economy stays strong and inflation remains elevated.
Second, US President Donald Trump hinted at fresh tariffs on imports of automobiles, semiconductors, and pharmaceuticals.
Historically, tariff-related developments have triggered Bitcoin corrections, and this week was no exception.
Additional pressure came from concerns over FTX creditor repayments, with over $1.2 billion being returned to affected users.
Since these payouts are based on Bitcoin’s November 2022 price of around $20,000, traders were concerned that recipients may offload tier holdings to lock in their profits.
Will Bitcoin go up?
By the end of the week, bulls found renewed strength after the SEC dropped its long-running enforcement case against crypto giant Coinbase.
The decision aligned with President Donald Trump’s pro-crypto stance and his pledge to ease regulatory pressures.
Fresh US macro data gave markets another reason to rally. Initial jobless claims climbed to 219,000—4,000 higher than expected—hinting that the labour market might finally be losing some steam.
For traders, that’s a potential sign the Federal Reserve could ease up on its restrictive policies sooner than planned, opening the door for more liquidity to flow back into risk assets like crypto.
According to pseudonymous analyst Roman, Bitcoin could be eyeing a return above six figures in the coming weeks if it reclaims a key support level.
In a recent X post, Roman described $98,400 as a “pivot point” and suggested that breaking above it could trigger a rally toward $108,000.
Fellow analyst Rekt Capital was on the same page, calling $97,000 a crucial level to watch.
He told his followers that Bitcoin needs a daily close above that mark to “keep holding the higher low as support” and stay in bullish territory.
Meanwhile, trader Warren Muppet spotted Bitcoin climbing past $98,000 on the daily chart for the first time since February 4.
He added that if BTC manages to close above this level—and break past the weekly trend—it could set the stage for a run at fresh all-time highs.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin was hovering near $97,677, having gained less than 1% over the past week.
Altcoin markets show signs of life
Several major altcoins broke away from Bitcoin’s trend this week, staging recoveries on the back of individual developments.
The total altcoin market cap jumped from a weekly low of $1.36 trillion to over $1.45 trillion by Friday.
However, the altcoin season index still flagged Bitcoin season at 29, which means the broader market remains hesitant.
The top performers for this week all posted double-digit gains:
Story
Story (IP) soared nearly 150% over the past 7 days, exchanging hands at $4.56 as of press time while its market cap was seated at $1.44 billion.
The price rally was accompanied by a jump in trading volume from around $175 million on February 15 to nearly $1.44 billion, which showed significant demand among its traders.
Source: CoinMarketCap
The token has skyrocketed over 370% from its all-time low of $1.00 since launching last week alongside Story Protocol’s layer-1 mainnet and token airdrop.
On February 21 afternoon, it hit a new high of nearly $7.00.
While it’s not entirely clear what’s driving the price surge, Story Protocol did release more details about its technical roadmap on Feb. 20.
The roadmap shows plans to roll out a public beta for the IP Portal and a decentralized oracle network in Q2.
Meanwhile, CoinGlass data shows a 33% spike in open interest from $162 million to $216.9 million early Friday, suggesting more traders have been betting on IP’s future price action.
Sonic
Over the last 7 days, Sonic (S) broke out of its consolidation phase as it rose nearly 61% to $0.87 at the time of publication.
Source: CoinMarketCap
Sonic’s growing influence in the DeFi space is driving its recent surge.
Data from DeFi Llama shows that nearly 80 developers have joined the ecosystem in the past two months, boosting activity on the network.
The total value locked in Sonic’s dApps has reached $703.4 million, making it the 14th-largest blockchain by this metric.
Many dApps in the ecosystem have seen significant growth. For example, Silo Finance, a lending protocol, now holds $233.57 million in assets, up 74% in just a week.
Avalon Labs has also grown to $133.72 million.
Another factor driving Sonic’s rally is its high staking yield of 5.76%, which surpasses Ethereum’s 2.8% and Sui’s 2.55%.
Sonic’s user base and transaction volume are also climbing.
According to Dune, the network handled over 2.29 million transactions in the past week, and the number of active addresses has grown to 46,300.
This momentum suggests continued interest from developers and users alike.
Maker
Maker (MKR) was up 41.2% over the past week, trading at $1,427 per coin while its market cap was seated at $1.21 billion.
Its daily trading volume also nearly tripled over the past day to around $308 million as of press time.
Source: CoinMarketCap
The weekly gains followed a massive $156.77 million worth of MKR being burned, significantly reducing the token’s circulating supply.
A lower supply increases scarcity, creating deflationary pressure that typically drives higher demand among users.
Another key factor fueling Maker’s rally is its strong presence in the DeFi space.
Data from DeFiLlama shows that the protocol’s total value locked hit $5.55 billion, reinforcing its position as one of Ethereum’s top DeFi projects.
The price surge also appears to be driven by increasing whale accumulation and strategic moves from smart DEX traders.
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