Bitcoin Flash Crash Sets the Tone for First Half of 2025

Bitcoin price rally to the $100,000 milestone and its all-time high of $109,588 kicked off the 2024 bull market

Bitcoin price slipped to a low of $91,300 on February 3 in a flash crash before recovering to trade above the $95,000 level. BTC price action faced selling pressure as U.S. President Donald Trump announced seven new appointments within the administration.

The total crypto market capitalization excluding Bitcoin ranges around the $1.19 trillion mark, as per TradingView data. The metric dropped nearly 20% in February 2025 until Wednesday, February 19.

Altcoins continue consolidating as Bitcoin dominance hovers around four-year peak.

The total crypto market capitalization excluding Bitcoin ranges around the $1.19 trillion mark, according to TradingView data. The metric dropped nearly 20% in February 2025 until Wednesday, February 19.

Altcoins are seen gearing for recovery as trading volume across exchanges fell to pre-election levels after significant de-leveraging, an insight from a K33 research report highlighted.

Professional traders are seen to be risk averse as the contango narrows and CME basis falls to September levels, an insight from a K33 research report highlighted.

The short-term sentiment among traders is that of caution and institutional holder exposure to crypto has slowed down. A key indicator to watch is the Altcoin Season Index on Blockchaincenter.

Altcoin season is a time period where the returns on 75% of the top 50 altcoins outperform Bitcoin consistently in a 90-day timeframe. To determine whether it is the altcoin season yet, traders use the altcoin season index.

On Wednesday, the index reads 45, on a scale of 0 to 100, meaning that it is not the altcoin season yet.

As altcoins consolidate, it may be the ideal time for sidelined buyers to begin accumulation before the next leg up. Tokens like Bittensor (TAO), Pyth Network (PYTH), Ethena (ENA), blue-chip meme coins like Dogecoin (DOGE) and Pepe (PEPE) are currently below the average traded prices and could begin their recovery once the altcoin rally resumes.

Best altcoins to buy now

The top three altcoins that are currently in the buy zone and could recover in the next leg of the altcoin rally are Bittensor, Pyth Network and Dogecoin. The following price charts identify the buy zone, price target, gains and the support/ resistance levels for sidelined buyers to enter a trade this week.

PYTH has been in a multimonth downward trend that started in December 2024, during the Bitcoin bull run. The token has been in a decline, down to $0.2031 at the time of writing. Technical indicators on the daily timeframe, RSI and MACD support a bullish thesis in PYTH and the token could rally 25% to test a key resistance level within an imbalance zone, at $0.2548.

A Bitcoin flashcrash or market consolidation could send PYTH to support at the February 8 low of $0.1739.

Bittensor’s TAO has several catalysts like Dynamic TAO upgrade and the launch of subnet AI tokens, that could drive value higher in the coming weeks in February 2025. The token could break out of its downward trend and close above the $379 level, test resistance at $445.

$445 is the upper boundary of a Fair Value Gap on the daily timeframe, a key resistance level for TAO. A rally to $445 marks 16% gains in the token.

TAO could find support at $341, the February 9 low for the AI token.

Dogecoin, the largest meme token in the crypto market is currently ranging after a multi-month downward trend. A daily candlestick close above resistance at $0.30 could break the pattern and indicate a trend reversal in the token.

DOGE’s technical indicators on the daily chart are supportive of nearly 20% gains in the coming weeks, meaning the short term outlook on the token is bullish. A correction could send DOGE to test support at $0.21659, as seen in the chart below.

Bitcoin price outlook

Derivatives data from a K33 research report shows that traders have taken a cautious hands-off approach on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) over the past few weeks. The sentiment among derivatives traders is bearish as premiums continue to push lower, while open interest remains stagnant amidst no significant spike in ETF activity.

Premiums have been on a clear downtrend in the months following the result of the U.S. Presidential election in November 2024. BTC’s initial post-Trump election rally pushed the asset above $100,000. However, as the market adjusts to announcements and macro developments