Major cryptocurrencies experienced mixed trading on Sunday evening, as East Asia marked the beginning of the Lunar New Year. According to the Chinese Zodiac, the current period is called the Year of the Dragon.

What Happened: Based on the latest analysis by 10X Research, Bitcoin’s price is forecasted to surge to as much as $48,000 in the upcoming days, capitalizing on the historical trend of gains noted around the Lunar New Year.

The forecast foresees an expected surge of at least 11%. Bitcoin has experienced an increase of almost 15% in the last two weeks, offsetting previous losses amid the excitement surrounding the anticipated Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), ultimately resulting in a “sell-the-news” scenario.

Top Gainer (24 Hour)

The global cryptocurrency market cap now stands at $1.70 trillion, showing a 2.90% increase in the past 24 hours.

U.S. stock futures held steady on Sunday night after a historic week for the S&P 500. Futures linked to the 500-stock index showed no significant change, while Dow Jones Industrial Average futures and Nasdaq 100 futures traded within 0.1% of their previous closing levels.

Traders will closely monitor the upcoming release of the Consumer Price Index (CPI), a crucial measure of inflation, scheduled for Tuesday morning. Additionally, they anticipate the release of economic data on Thursday and Friday, encompassing January’s retail sales, production figures, imports and exports, housing starts, and the Producer Price Index (PPI).

See More: Best Cryptocurrency Scanners

Analyst Notes: Cryptocurrency analyst Michael Van de Poppe observed that Bitcoin is currently encountering resistance in the $48,000-50,000 range.

“Stronger and more resilient than I personally imagined. Is that bad? No, it’s a good sign. More inflow from institutions signals more market strength. I think seeing $53,000-57,000 pre-halving has a likely chance.”

Crypto analyst Ali Martinez said in a post on X said that Bitcoin whales have engaged in a buying spree, accumulating 140,000 BTC over the last three weeks, equivalent to $6.16 billion. “#Bitcoin whales have been on a buying spree, acquiring 140,000 $BTC over the past three weeks, amounting to $6.16 billion!”

Ki Young Ju, CEO of analytics platform CryptoQuant, predicted $112,000 per bitcoin this year.

This forecast aligns with CryptoQuant’s market forecast, which takes into account the impact of investments on Bitcoin’s realized cap.Realized cap represents the aggregate price at which the BTC supply last moved. 

“Bitcoin market has seen $9.5B in spot ETF inflows per month, potentially boosting the realized cap by $114B yearly. Even with $GBTC outflows, a $76B rise could elevate the realized cap from $451B to $527-565B,” Ki said.

Ki presented a “worst case” for BTC estimation ranging from $55,000 to $59,000.

Photo by FellowNeko on Shutterstock

Read Next: Jim Cramer Advises Against Using Binance, Provokes Strong Reactions From Twitter Users