Bitcoin Zeroes In On $18,000 – Can BTC Upside Breakout Materialize?

After weeks of consolidation, Bitcoin – the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization – and the broader cryptocurrency market have witnessed a short-term bounce in response to Consumer Price Index data that exceeded expectations.
The Labor Department of the United States reported that CPI climbed barely 0.1% between October and November. Last month, the inflation measure recorded a score of 7.1% compared to the projected 7.3%.
Bitcoin Inching Closer To $18K
The increase has brought the flagship cryptocurrency Bitcoin closer to the $18,000 level. At the time of writing, it is trading at $17,778 after a 24-hour increase of roughly 5%, data by market aggregator Coingecko shows.
For its part, Ethereum’s price has risen 4% over the past week to $1,321, maintaining a similar trajectory.
Ahead of Tuesday’s trading session, stocks were also trading higher. Following the publication of CPI data, US futures soared. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 780 points, or 2.4%.
Futures on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 rose 2.9% and nearly 4%, respectively, in response to inflation data that exceeded expectations.
Bitcoin has also reached a new four-week high as a result of the surge, with investors closely monitoring the asset’s price trajectory for a bottom that would likely pave the way for a fresh price flare-up.

BTC total market cap at $342 billion on the daily chart | Chart: TradingView.com
On Sam Bankman-Fried Arrest And Optimistic Forecast For BTC
On Tuesday, Kitco News analyst Jim Wycoff noted, based on Bitcoin’s recent price momentum, that the leading cryptocurrency may have initiated a “bullish upside breakout.”
According to Wycoff, today’s price movement appears to have marked the beginning of a strong upside breakout from Bitcoin’s sideways trading range on the daily bar chart, indicating that a price uptrend will emerge.
Wycoff noted that Bitcoin bulls have amassed a near-term technical edge following a struggle of nearly equal proportions.
This year has witnessed an extended crypto winter that has yet to show signs of thawing. If the LUNC decline wasn’t terrible enough, the FTX debacle was the proverbial final nail in the coffin that the broader crypto market required to seal their current negative mood.
Nonetheless, as the year 2022 draws to a close, the cryptocurrency market is exhibiting indications of fresh energy, allowing investors to usher in the new year on a positive note.
Moreover, the arrest and detention of former FTX big boss Sam Bankman-Fried may have been the most significant cause in motivating the crypto enthusiasts to increase Bitcion price once again.
As Bitcoinist reported today, the Bahamas government has recently refused Bankman-Fried bail, citing “significant flight risk.”
Meanwhile, Bankman-Fried and his legal counsel have indicated their opposition to his extradition to the United States. His extradition hearing is set for February 8, 2023.