Bitcoin Stagnates as Analysts Forecast Potential Bottom For Ethereum Before End of Year

The cryptocurrency market displayed minimal movement on Friday. At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading flat at $58,020, down a mere 0.4% in the last 24 hours and down 5% compared to this time last month.

Amid lack of volumes ahead of the weekend, analysts have been forecasting a potential bottoming of Ethereum (ETH) over the next 2-4 months.

The second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, is experiencing a slightly steeper decline in Friday morning trading. At $2,345, it has slipped 0.8% in the last day, according to CoinGecko data.

Notably, Ethereum has underperformed Bitcoin over the past month, dropping 15% compared to Bitcoin's 5% decline.

Amid this period of consolidation, analysts from 10X Research suggest that Ethereum could be approaching longer-term oversold conditions. While they caution against expecting an immediate rebound, the firm predicts a potential bottom forming within the next two to four months.

"Traders should monitor medium-term reversal indicators such as RSI and Stochastics," the 10X Research team advises, noting that these metrics can signal a turnaround from deeply oversold levels.

The RSI measures the speed and change of price movements to identify overbought or oversold conditions, while Stochastics compares a security's closing price to its price range over a set period, helping to predict potential market reversals.

Meanwhile, the ETF market continues to show divergent trends between Bitcoin and Ethereum products. Bitcoin spot ETFs on September 12 saw a net inflow of $39 million, with ARK's (ARKB) and Fidelity's (FBTC) leading the charge, contributing $18.3 million and $11.5 million respectively.

In contrast, Ethereum spot ETFs experienced a net outflow of $20.1 million on the same day, primarily driven by Grayscale's (ETHE) fund.

James Davies, co-founder and chief product officer of Crypto Valley Exchange CVEX.XYZ, told  Decrypt that broader economic factors have been having a pronounced influence on markets.

"Tech stocks globally are showing a rally, good inflation data, improved growth data everywhere is allowing investment,” he said. Davies also underscored the importance of positive indicators from China and the potential for U.S. interest rate cuts as factors positioning the market for growth.

Looking ahead to theU.S. presidential elections, Darren Franceschini, Cofounder of Fideum, told Decrypt he anticipates a period of sideways price movement in the lead-up to November.

"The outcome of these elections could have a significant impact on the future acceptance and regulation of cryptocurrencies in the U.S. financial markets," he said.

He suggested that a crypto-friendly president could serve as a catalyst for market growth but expects high trading volume with minimal price movement until there is more clarity.

Edited by Stacy Elliott.