Bitcoin price delivers $24.5K Christmas gift with another new all-time high

Bitcoin (BTC) has broken $24,000 once again on Dec. 25 as bullish momentum returned for Christmas, which is looking rosy for bulls.

BTC/USD 1-hour candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: Tradingview

BTC price within $200 of new all-time high

Data from Cointelegraph Markets, Coin360 and TradingView showed BTC/USD repeatedly testing $24,000 resistance on Christmas Day.

Hitting new all-time highs of $24,500 on Bitstamp at publishing time, Bitcoin refused to conform to bearish prognoses, shrugging off lows that resulted from legal action against Ripple.

At press time, the largest cryptocurrency circled $23,900 as volatility intensified, with all-time highs in sight at $24,217.

For some, such a move was expected, coming late in the year when Bitcoin tends to dominate over altcoins before a reversal takes place in January. Among adherents to this view is Cointelegraph Markets analyst Michaël van de Poppe.

“Bitcoin dominance has been topping out in December in the past years. Every year it did,” he summarized on the day.

“The likelihood of this to repeat itself is significant, especially combining this with the current sentiment on altcoins. Bullish for Q1 2021.”

Altcoins hit back after XRP lawsuit sell-off

With the holidays beginning, large buy-ins from institutional investors were less likely, these having the potential to dredge up liquidity and boost price performance even higher.

As Cointelegraph reported, however, MicroStrategy, which has holdings in excess of 70,000 BTC, revealed that it purchased small amounts on a high-frequency basis instead of moving the market with a lump sum.

Meanwhile, altcoins are also up on Christmas day, with Ether (ETH) regaining $600 and XRP, fresh from a 60% drop from Ripple’s lawsuit fears, rebounded to $0.35.