Bitcoin (BTC) is in peak form — virtually literally — every bit it heads into a new week less than 15% away from all-time highs.

A classic cocktail of factors has laid the foundation for a fourth-quarter finale, which analysts are now confidently comparing to the balderdash runs of 2022 and 2022.

Decoupling from macro market place movements and the U.S. dollar, Bitcoin is over again looking similar the golden culling that investors want — all while altcoins sideslip away.

With "Uptober" still merely in its 2d total calendar week, Cointelegraph takes a look at what might lie in store for BTC cost activity over the coming days.

Altcoins lag ahead of "Bitcoin flavor"

Things are looking rosy as the week begins for Bitcoin traders — last week's 4-month highs are back and browbeaten.

With the exception of a curious anomaly on exchange Bitstamp, which saw a momentary wick down to $51,000, a quiet weekend preserved previous gains.

At present seemingly lining up an assault on the final resistance below all-time highs of $64,500, BTC price action is delighting market participants.

There'south a further aspect behind Bitcoin'southward strength, however — one that could preserve farther upside in the curt term.

Altcoins are underperforming, leading to predictions of a "Bitcoin season" earlier some grade of alt season reemerges afterwards on. As Cointelegraph reported, this might not be until 2022.

The state of affairs is particularly visible in Ether (ETH), the largest altcoin by market capitalization, which is now at its lowest confronting BTC since the start of August.

"ETH/BTC breaking down, while Bitcoin consolidating," Cointelegraph contributor Michaël van de Poppe summarized on Oct. 10.

"I'1000 assuming Bitcoin continues, while altcoins are not getting the game yet."
ETH/BTC one-day candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingView

Van de Poppe notwithstanding suggested a contentious cycle price tiptop for ETH/USD of up to $20,000, with a timeframe of Q1 2022.

"You lot are here"

It takes a lot to please Bitcoiners when it comes to BTC price action.

As whatsoever longtime inhabitant of Crypto Twitter will know, even the most unexpected moves in BTC/USD can only satisfy sentiment for so long earlier investors demand more.

Last calendar week was no exception: Bitcoin gained $three,000 in minutes, added $five,000 in an 60 minutes and hit four-month highs — but days subsequently, commentators complained of being "bored."

The weight of expectations for Bitcoin in 2022 — the year after the third halving and, therefore, the deadline for a halving cycle toll top — is palpable.

How far BTC toll could rising is a matter of intense fence, and while some contend that $200,000 or fifty-fifty $300,000 is "programmed," others are already losing organized religion, claiming that this cycle cannot exist like the concluding 2.

Comparing postal service-halving years, however, appears to deliver an near unanimous verdict on Bitcoin's chances: The main rise to a accident-off top has yet to begin.

September's dip below $twoscore,000, for example, echoes similar events in 2022 and 2022. These came immediately before liftoff, acting as the "ultimate" bear trap.

Overlaying 2022 toll functioning onto that from 2022 likewise produces uncanny similarities.

All these findings, from popular trading account TechDev, point to this year'southward pinnacle being an guild of magnitude above the terminal. Technical or not, the analyst argues, a six-figure high is all but logically guaranteed.

The similarities, meanwhile, are nothing new, with various sources charting the extent of price conformity to previous post-halving years throughout 2022.

One solar day, $31 billion settled

A lot of attention has focused on Bitcoin's network fundamentals throughout the 2022–2021 bull run, but there's more.

With the hash rate and difficulty all but recovered and nearing all-time highs, fresh data shows that other aspects of Bitcoin are setting records of their own.

This week, information technology'south about network capacity and scaling — all on-concatenation, earlier the Lightning Network is fifty-fifty factored in.

As noted past analyst Kevin Rooke, a unmarried day last week saw Bitcoin handle over $30 billion of value.

"$31 billion. That's how much value was settled on the Bitcoin blockchain in a single twenty-four hour period this week," he commented.

"It's a new best high for Bitcoin, and a 40x leap in settlement value since 2022 began."
Bitcoin daily transaction book chart. Source: Kevin Rooke/Twitter

The impressive transformation has been accompanied by consistency in toll — Bitcoin transaction fees remain low.

Questions over GBTC

The countdown to a conclusion on a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) continues to excite this week — only is an approval already "priced in?"

While U.South. regulator the Securities and Commutation Committee has pushed back the deadline on deciding the fate of spot-based Bitcoin ETFs to November, this month will see a "yes" or "no" on futures-backed ETF products.

The latter have attracted praise and criticism in equal measure, while a question mark also hangs over the fate of existing institutional Bitcoin instruments, notably marketplace heavyweight the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC).

Against a quickly rising Bitcoin price, GBTC continues to trade at a meaning discount to spot price, and that tendency has only deepened in recent weeks.

GBTC Premium chart. Source: Bybt

Should ETFs get the go-alee, analysts argue that always more capital letter will flow into them, long ahead of Grayscale itself converting its funds to ETFs.

For macro analyst Lyn Alden Schwartzer, the chances of the so-chosen "Grayscale premium" returning to even neutral territory seem slim.

"I doubt information technology, but it'southward not incommunicable for information technology to happen if in that location is a huge bitcoin rally and no ETF available at the time," she responded when asked in a social media discussion over the weekend.

Alden was updating research from last year in which she had highlighted the office of GBTC in Bitcoin price activeness. The relative absence of the miracle now, she said, is conversely positive for the sustainability of BTC price performance.

Sustainable greed?

For those concerned that the render to four-month highs has been accompanied past market instability, recollect once more.

Related: Top 5 cryptocurrencies to watch this week: BTC, DOT, UNI, LINK, XMR

According to the Crypto Fear & Greed Index sentiment gauge, the latest BTC price uptick is firmly rooted in sustainable growth.

This contrasts with the norm — moves to highs, and particularly almost all-time highs, tend to encounter the index reach "extreme greed." This, in turn, suggests an unsustainable market place that is easy to destabilize, sparking a cost correction.

Then far, while almost $57,000, the Fear & Greed Index measures only 71/100 — "greed" rather than "extreme greed" and notwithstanding far from the classic pinnacle area of 95/100 and higher.

Crypto Fear & Greed Alphabetize as of Oct. 11. Source: Alternative

Oct has nonetheless produced major changes in sentiment. On Sept. 30, for example — only two weeks ago — the alphabetize measured xx/100, or "extreme fear."