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Bitcoin (BTC) enters a new week with a bang after sealing its highest weekly close since mid-June — can the good times continue?

After a volatile weekend, BTC/USD managed to restrict losses into the later portion of the weekend to produce a solid green candle on weekly timeframes.

In what could shape up to be the last “quiet” week of the summer, bulls have time on their hands in the absence of major macro market drivers involving the United States Federal Reserve.

Fundamentals remain strong on Bitcoin, which is due to an increase in its mining difficulty for the second time in a row in the coming days.

On derivatives markets, encouraging signs are also present, with higher price levels accompanied by bullish data over sentiment.

Shiba Inu (SHIB) broke out of its prevailing "cup-and-handle" pattern on Aug. 14, raising its prospects of securing additional gains in the coming weeks.

Shiba Inu could soar 50%

A cup-and-handle appears when the price falls and rises in a U-shaped trajectory in the first stage, followed by a swift move sideways or downward in the second. Notably, the price trend develops under a common resistance level.

Typically, cup-and-handle patterns resolve after the price breaks above the resistance level; SHIB did the same on Aug. 14 after rising 27% to $0.000016, as shown below.

Per the rule of technical analysis, a cup-and-handle breakout target is determined by measuring the distance between the pattern's lowest point and resistance line and adding it to the breakout point. As a result, SHIB could head toward $0.00002253.

In other words, a 50% price rally by September.

The S&P 500 rose for the fourth successive week as investors cheered on signs that inflation may have peaked. Bitcoin (BTC) and select altcoins also extended their recovery, suggesting that investors are increasing their exposure to risk assets.

A similar trend has played out in the cryptocurrency markets. Altcoins, led by Ether (ETH), have outperformed Bitcoin after clarity on Ethereum’s Merge, according to analysts at Glassnode.

However, trading firm QCP Capital is cautious about the momentum in the altcoin market. They highlighted that the open interest on Ether options had surged to $8 billion, exceeding Bitcoin option OI which was at $5 billion. Glassnode suggested that traders have been booking profits on the spread between their spot long Ether versus the quarterly short Ether futures positions.

Could Bitcoin and the altcoins extend their recovery in the next few days? Let’s study the charts of the top-5 cryptocurrencies that may outperform in the near term.

BTC/USDT

Bitcoin rose above the overhead resistance of $24,668 on Aug. 13 and Aug. 14 but the bulls could not sustain the higher levels. This indicates that bears are selling on rallies but repeated breach of an overhead resistance tends to weaken it.

Bitcoin (BTC) spiked through $25,000 for the first time in months on Aug. 14, but traders refused to take any chances on a bull run.

Weekend produces brief $25,000 tap for BTC

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView tracked a sudden run-up on BTC/USD, which hit $25,050 on Bitstamp in a $350 hourly candle.

The move took the pair to a new personal best since June 13, erasing more of the losses seen that day in what remains a significant BTC price correction.

Analyzing the market setup, however, familiar bearish tones remained. 

For popular Twitter account Il Capo of Crypto, the latest highs appeared to provide the last piece of the puzzle before a new downtrend set in.

Ether (ETH) is worth more in Bitcoin (BTC) than at any time since the start of the year amid renewed appetite for altcoins.

Altcoin market cap returns to $700 billio

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView confirms that ETH/BTC has cleared key resistance to pass 0.08 BTC on Aug. 13.

The move is impressive for largest altcoin Ethereum, as the area around 0.075 represented a troublesome sell zone which had previously kept bulls in check for since January.

At the time of writing, ETH/BTC is working to retain the newly-won level, as traders query how long its strength might last.

As Cointelegraph reported earlier, ETH/USD passed $2,000 overnight, a significant psychological boundary in itself unseen since May.

Solana (SOL) risks a significant price correction in the coming weeks owing to a classic bearish reversal setup.

A 35% SOL price correction ahead?

On the three-day chart, SOL's price has been painting a rising wedge, confirmed by two ascending, converging trendlines and falling trading volumes in parallel.

Rising wedges typically result in breakdown, resolving after the asset's price break below the lower trendline. If the price follows the breakdown scenario, it could fall by as much as the maximum distance between the wedge's upper and lower trendline.

SOL is far from a breakdown but trades within a falling wedge range, as shown in the chart below. The token eyes an immediate pullback from the wedge's upper trendline with its interim downside target sitting at the lower trendline around $45. 

It will risk falling toward $30 if the price breaks below the lower trendline while accompanying a rise in trading volumes. In other words, a 35% price drop by September.

Crypto lending platform Celsius Network has an approximately $1.2 billion gap in its balance sheet, with most liabilities owed to its users. In addition, the firm has filed for bankruptcy protection, so its future looks bleak.

Still, Celsius Network's native utility token CEL has soared in valuation by over 4,100% in the last two months, reaching around $3.93 on Aug. 13 compared to its mid-June bottom of $0.093.

In comparison, top coins Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) rallied 40% and 130% in the same period.

Takeover rumors behind CEL explosion?

Technically, the price rally made CEL an excessively valued token in early August when its relative strength index (RSI) crossed above the 70 threshold.

Takeover rumors appear to be behind CEL's upside strength. Notably, Ripple wants to purchase Celsius Network's assets, according to an anonymous source cited by Reuters on Aug. 10.

Bitcoin (BTC) is still due to return to near $20,000, fresh analysis warns as BTC/USD attempts to retest multi-month highs. 

Buy-the-dip set for invalidation at $20,700

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD staging a second run-up to near $25,000 on Aug. 13, so far seeing rejection.

The pair had gained over $1,300 overnight, but as bulls again ran out of momentum near crucial resistance, few were optimistic over Bitcoin avoiding a deeper comedown.

"One last high to rekt early shorts," popular trading account Il Capo of Crypto told Twitter followers.

Similarly cautious was fellow trader Jibon, who said that he would even prefer to wait and "buy higher" than spot price to rule out any trend reversals.

An ascending triangle formation has driven the total crypto market capitalization toward the $1.2 trillion level. The issue with this seven-week-long setup is the diminishing volatility, which could last until late August. From there, the pattern can break either way, but Tether and futures markets data show bulls lacking enough conviction to catalyze an upside break.

Investors cautiously await further macroeconomic data on the state of the economy as the United States Federal Reserve (FED) raises interest rates and places its asset purchase program on hold. On Aug. 12, the United Kingdom posted a gross domestic product (GDP) contraction of 0.1% year-over-year. Meanwhile, inflation in the U.K. reached 9.4% in July, the highest figure seen in 40 years.

The Chinese property market has caused the Fitch Ratings credit agency to issue a “special report” on Aug. 7 to quantify the impact of prolonged distress on a potentially weaker economy in China. Analysts expect asset management and smaller construction and steel-producing companies to suffer the most.

In short, risk asset investors are anxiously waiting for the Federal Reserve and Central Banks across the world to signal that the policy of tightening is coming to an end. On the other hand, expansionary policies are more favorable for scarce assets, including cryptocurrencies.

Sentiment improves to neutral after 4 months

The risk-off attitude caused by increased interest rates has instilled a bearish sentiment into cryptocurrency investors since mid-April. As a result, traders have been unwilling to allocate to volatile assets and sought shelter in U.S. Treasuries, even though their returns do not compensate for inflation.

Bitcoin (BTC) headed lower on Aug. 12 as a broadly expected comedown from two-month highs began to take shape.

200-week moving average becomes pivot

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD dipping to $23,615 on Bitstamp prior to the day's Wall Street open, marking 24-hour losses of around 5.2%.

The pair had seen its highest levels since June 13 as enthusiasm over declining United States inflation combined with news that the world's largest asset manager, BlackRock, was launching a Bitcoin private fund.

While some commentators hoped for Bitcoin to tackle resistance closer to $30,000 as a result, others remained cautious, with suspicions that a fresh downtrend could ensue remaining.

"Volume is dying. Channels are not impulses but corrections," popular trading account Il Capo of Crypto wrote in its latest update on the day.