Sideways Bitcoin price allows DeFi, Ether and altcoins to rally higher

For the past two days, Bitcoin price has traded within the $14,800–$15,500 range, but the top digital asset has struggled to flip $15,500 to support. 

A positive is that Bitcoin (BTC) continues to make higher lows, and at the time of writing, the price is trying to break from the range but still encountering resistance at $15,500.

While BTC price has bounced back and forth, altcoins and select DeFi tokens have capitalized on the consolidation phase and turned bullish.

DeFi having a dayTop 3: $YAX + 73%$MTA + 35%$BZRX + 19% pic.twitter.com/km4jqZuSCX

As Messari pointed out earlier today in a tweet, DeFi tokens such as Yearn.finance's YFI, Aave's AAVE, Balancer's BAL and Uniswap's UNI are all up by double digits. Most notably, YFI has gained roughly 160% after bottoming at $7,444 on Nov. 5, and in the past two days, AAVE went on an absolute tear as the token rallied 175% from $25.87 to $70.91.

Aside from these tokens, a handful of tokens with smaller market capitalizations on decentralized exchanges are also racking up gains, and data from Dune Analytics signals that investors are beginning to become more active in the DeFi space again.

As DEX volumes increase, so do the number of daily active users, and today, the sector reached a new record as DeFi Pulse noted that the total value locked in DEX platforms has surged to $12.87 billion.

While it is probably too early to call for an alt season, Ether (ETH) has turned bullish again, and within the last three hours, the altcoin broke through its pennant structure and rallied to $466.60.

Analysts have also noted that the ETH/BTC pair broke from its downtrend and is currently climbing higher toward the 0.32323 sats resistance.

Historically, altcoins tend to rally when Bitcoin price is sideways, and Ether’s strengthening fundamentals could be a sign that DeFi and altcoins may be on the verge of a trend change.

For the short term, traders will be watching to see if BTC can turn the $15,500–$16,000 level to support, as this is likely to pull a few bullish altcoins higher. Alternatively, if BTC price remains sideways over the coming days, there could be a continued advance from the top DeFi tokens and a handful of altcoins.