Bitcoin and Ethereum face a steep challenge, while troubled Solana surges forward

Bitcoin (BTC) continues to experience extremely low trading volumes in the new year, yet the BTC/USDT pair has managed to trend in the right direction, with green candlesticks posted across the past three days.

But changing hands at US$16,720, there is no doubt that BTC has a long journey ahead of it before reclaiming pre-FTX crash levels, particularly given that a sideways trade is now entering its third week. 

The next major hurdle for the bitcoin bulls is surpassing the US$16,800 resistance level.

Bitcoin (BTC) has a long road ahead of it – Source: currency.com

Ethereum (EH) had one of its strongest days in two weeks yesterday, when it managed to gain about 1.1% to close out at US$1,215. The ETH/USDT pair has managed to hold onto this price point so far today.

Ethereum bulls are now eyeing up US$1,230, where a strong sell wall is posted.

In the altcoin space, the troubled Solana network is enjoying some much-need relief, with the native token SOL currently 5.6% up week on week (WoW).

That makes SOL one of the strongest large-cap altcoins on the market right now, trailing Litecoin (LTC)’s near 8% surge.

Cosmos (ATOM) and Tron (TRX) are also outperforming the market.

In the decentralised finance (DeFi) space, the Uniswap decentralised exchange is looking strong, having added 2.5% in the past week.

Global market capitalisation across all cryptocurrencies is currently US$808bn, while total value locked across all DeFi protocols stands at US$39bn.

It’s safe to say that the crypto markets have a steep climb ahead in 2023.