Market Overview
Over the last 24 hours Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) both experienced orderly pull-backs that bottomed during Asian trading hours and then printed a series of slightly higher lows.
Key technical read-outs
• BTC’s hourly chart shows a shallow V-shape recovery from 87,440 to 87,836 USD with falling volumes – typical of a holiday liquidity environment. The 4-hour RSI has turned up from 39 to 46, signalling the momentum loss on the sell-side. Immediate resistance sits at 88,200-88,500 USD (yesterday’s breakdown area) while intraday support is clustered at 87,300-87,500 USD.
• ETH followed an almost identical path, holding the 2,970–2,975 USD demand zone and reclaiming the psychological 2,980 USD handle. An hourly bullish divergence (price flat, RSI rising) appeared at the London open.
Sentiment & macro drivers
• The Fear & Greed Index is at 25 ("Fear"), indicating continued cautious positioning but also room for a sentiment rebound on any incremental good news.
• Headlines are net supportive in the very short term: Tether added ~8,900 BTC, Metaplanet purchased 4,279 BTC, and spot-ETF inflows re-accelerated into year-end. None of the negative stories (Broccoli meme-coin exploit, Lighter airdrop dump) directly affect BTC/ETH liquidity.
• USD softness is creeping back in as bond markets price deeper 2026 Fed cuts – a mild tail-wind for crypto over the next few hours.
Liquidity & order-flow
• Aggregate 24 h volume is muted (≈80 B USD) and perpetual funding rates are flat, suggesting that neither side is willing to deploy size before the first full trading week of 2026. That usually caps both downside follow-through and explosive upside.
Conclusion
Given the technical stabilisation, cautious but improving sentiment, supportive macro backdrop, and thin holiday liquidity, the base case for the next 5 hours is a slow grind higher toward the nearest resistance bands rather than a sharp breakout or renewed sell-off.