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Bitcoin Crash Warning in Two Weeks – Target Below $80,000?
Popular cryptocurrency analyst Nicholas Merten has issued a striking warning about Bitcoin, predicting that the coin could face a major crash within the next two weeks.
💥Worrying Price Drop Forecast
In his latest video on the DataDash channel, which has over 510,000 followers, Merten said Bitcoin is currently hovering around $94,000, but technical signals and macro indicators all point to the possibility of a sharp correction.
''Not only is Bitcoin showing signs of weakness in its price action, but altcoins and macroeconomic indicators are also under heavy pressure.''
💥Bitcoin Price Target Below $80,000?
Merten points out that the 21-day exponential moving average (EMA), which has been a strong support level, has now become resistance. This could push Bitcoin lower:
⭐100-day EMA: Around $85,000.
⭐Lower target $80,000: Bitcoin could approach this level if the support above fails to hold.
⭐200-day EMA: Lows around $76,000, if the breakdown takes place.

💥Consequences For Altcoins
According to Merten, if Bitcoin falls sharply, altcoins will be hit harder:
“We could see a 25% to 30% drop, which is enough to cause major trouble for the altcoin market.”
Although he asserted that this is not “the end of the world”, this sharp adjustment will put significant psychological pressure on investors.
💥What to Expect?
The cryptocurrency market is notoriously volatile, and predictions like Nicholas Merten’s make investors even more cautious.
Will Bitcoin really face a major price drop or is it just a short-term correction? Let’s wait and see what happens next.

Tether, the issuer of USDT, bought 7,629 $BTC worth $705 million, marking the largest Bitcoin transaction since March 2024. The Bitcoin was transferred to Bitfinex's hot wallet, reinforcing Tether's strategy of diversifying its reserves with digital assets, according to data from Lookonchain.
Increase Bitcoin holdings
Tether's Bitcoin reserves reached 82,983 BTC ($7.68 billion), purchased at an average price of $36,125/$BTC . Tether has pledged to reinvest 15% of its profits into Bitcoin from May 2023, diversifying its reserves beyond Treasury bonds and cash.
The company views Bitcoin as a long-term strategic investment, emphasizing its commitment to stability and promoting the development of the cryptocurrency industry.
Previous Bitcoin Buybacks
In 2024, Tether made three large Bitcoin purchases, including 8,888 BTC in January ($379 million), 8,888 BTC in April ($600 million), and 7,629 BTC in December ($705 million).
These purchases brought its total reserves to 82,983 $BTC BTC, making Tether one of the seven largest institutional investors in Bitcoin globally, demonstrating a long-term strategy amid market volatility.
Implications for the Cryptocurrency Market
Tether has been snapping up Bitcoin amid regulatory pressure and a lack of liquidity in the cryptocurrency market, after USDT lost $1.1 billion in the past few months. The investment in Bitcoin represents a diversification strategy and helps the company weather market volatility.
Tether seeks to stabilize and increase liquidity in the market, while maintaining operational efficiency in a changing regulatory environment, especially as the European Union implements the MiCA regulatory framework.

China’s foreign exchange regulator has adopted new rules requiring banks to monitor and flag risky transactions involving cryptocurrencies.
The rules make it harder to buy digital assets, while requiring banks to monitor transactions involving cross-border illicit financial activity and report on the identities, sources of funds, and transaction frequency of individuals and organizations.

China continues its “aggressive” anti-crypto stance

Liu Zhengyao, a lawyer at ZhiHeng, said China’s new regulations would create a basis for punishing cryptocurrency trading and could lead to tighter regulation. Using yuan to buy cryptocurrency could be considered cross-border activity.
China banned cryptocurrency trading in 2019, aiming to reduce energy costs and emissions, and prohibited financial institutions from trading or mining cryptocurrencies.
China Holds $18 Billion Worth of Bitcoin
Despite China’s anti-crypto stance, the country still ranks second in Bitcoin holdings, with 194,000 $BTC worth around $18 billion.
China does not buy Bitcoin directly, but rather obtains it through the seizure of assets linked to illegal activities.

Former Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao said China could adopt a Bitcoin reserve strategy, stressing that the country could act quickly if it wanted to. Zhao said the government would need to do this at some point.

Attorney and $XRP advocate John Deaton recently shared that it’s hard to truly measure the damage the SEC’s lawsuit against Ripple and XRP has done to Ripple’s business. Back in 2012, when Ripple’s founders created XRP, stablecoins didn’t exist and the global payments market was wide open for innovation.
At the time, Ripple was deciding whether to focus on smart contracts or payments. Ultimately, Ripple chose to focus on cross-border payments, which he said made sense given the size of the market and the lack of stablecoins at the time.
In 2019, Coinbase listed XRP and promoted it as a way to send money internationally quickly and cheaply. Later that year, MoneyGram began using $XRP for remittances. But just 18 months later, the SEC filed a lawsuit, claiming that all XRP—regardless of how it was purchased—was an unregistered security.
Following the lawsuit, Coinbase delisted XRP and MoneyGram switched to using XLM instead. But Deaton asked, is there really a legal difference between using XRP or XLM for payments? However, XLM’s creator, Jed McCaleb, is also a co-founder of Ripple. Deaton argued that the SEC’s lawsuit was too broad. He also pointed out that many of the people who pushed the lawsuit against Ripple went on to work for Ripple’s competitors.
“But when you consider the circumstances surrounding how this lawsuit was filed, including the significant conflicts of interest and the fact that the people behind it have gone on to help or work for Ripple/XRP competitors, you don’t have to be a fan to be vocal,” he concluded.
The Ripple and SEC saga continues
The legal battle between Ripple and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has had a huge impact on $XRP since the case began in December 2020. A pivotal moment came on July 13, 2023, when Judge Analisa Torres ruled that XRP is not a security, a significant regulatory decision. However, the SEC appealed on October 17, challenging parts of the ruling. The SEC is required to file its opening brief by January 15, 2025, keeping the case open to the public.

Despite the ongoing market turmoil, $XLM , the native token of Stellar Lumen, is making its mark by challenging the overall cryptocurrency market, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Solana (SOL). As of today, January 1, 2025, XLM has led the market with an 11% gain in the past 24 hours.

Why is XLM price increasing?
With this impressive rally, XLM is currently trading at around $0.37. However, this remarkable rally began just before the Asian trading session. Meanwhile, this rally has attracted more traders and investors, leading to a 95% increase in trading volume over the same period.
The underlying reason for this surge is XLM’s bullish price action and the liquidation of millions of dollars worth of short positions, according to a report by analytics firm Coinglass.

Liquidate short positions
Data shows that $XLM traders have liquidated $531,570 worth of short positions out of a total of $711,230 worth of liquidations in the past four hours. This suggests that bulls are currently dominating the asset and are likely to continue liquidating shorts in the coming hours.

As of now, the main liquidation zones are $0.35 on the bottom and $0.38 on the top, with traders using excessive leverage at these levels, according to the XLM exchange liquidation map.

Based on the data, if the sentiment does not change and the price rises to $0.38, nearly $3.48 million worth of short positions will be liquidated. Conversely, if the sentiment changes and the price falls to $0.35, approximately $8.62 million worth of long positions will be liquidated.
This data shows that bulls are betting on the upside as they believe that the price of $XLM will not fall below $0.35.
XLM Price Prediction
According to the expert’s technical analysis, XLM looks bullish as it has broken out of a flag price pattern and a bullish extreme on the daily time frame. However, the breakout itself does not confirm whether it is successful or a fakeout.
Based on the recent price action and historical bullish momentum, if XLM breaks out of the pattern and closes the daily candle above $0.38, there is a high chance that the asset will surge 60% to $0.60 in the future.
In addition to this bullish outlook, if XLM fails to maintain its gains over the 24 hours and closes the daily candle below $0.33, the price could drop 30% to $0.21.

In the world of cryptocurrencies, $PEPE and $SHIB (Shiba Inu) stand out as two prominent representatives of the “meme coin” category. With their current prices far below the $1 mark, the question of which coin might reach $1 first is highly speculative and depends on various factors influencing the market.
Analysis of $SHIB (Shiba Inu)
Strong Community:
Shiba Inu has built a large and loyal community, which plays a crucial role in maintaining its value. Additionally, SHIB boasts several notable initiatives, such as the decentralized exchange ShibaSwap, a metaverse project, and various DeFi solutions.
Massive Supply:
SHIB’s total supply exceeds 589 trillion tokens, making the $1 target a significant challenge. Achieving this would require SHIB’s market capitalization to grow to an astronomical level, surpassing the entire current cryptocurrency market.
Feasibility:
Through efforts like token burning strategies, SHIB is working to reduce supply. However, reaching $1 would require global adoption and a strong market-wide growth wave.
Analysis of $PEPE
New but with Viral Potential:
$PEPE , launched after SHIB, has yet to develop a robust community or practical projects. However, like many meme coins, it has the potential for sharp price increases driven by viral trends or social media hype.
Large Supply:
PEPE faces a similar issue with its large total supply, making the $1 goal difficult without significant shifts in supply and demand dynamics.
Highly Speculative:
Unlike SHIB, PEPE currently lacks foundational infrastructure or real-world utility, relying entirely on investor sentiment and speculative capital.
Key Factors Influencing Growth
Market Trends: A strong bull market could propel meme coins to rapid price increases.Supply Reduction Strategies: Large-scale token burn programs are essential to reduce total supply and increase individual token value.Investor Sentiment: Meme coins heavily depend on market hype and sentiment, often exceeding fundamental considerations.Practical Utility: Coins that develop applications in DeFi, metaverse, or payment systems will have a long-term advantage.
Conclusion: Which Coin Could Reach $1 First?
Based on current factors, SHIB has the edge due to its strong community, supplementary projects, and notable growth history. However, both SHIB and PEPE face significant challenges related to their large supplies and would require a transformative shift in market conditions and project strategies to achieve this goal.
Investment Advice:
Meme coins, while offering high potential returns, are inherently high-risk investments. Consider investing only what you can afford to lose and approach these coins with caution.
Resistance Levels: For SHIB, key resistance levels are around $0.00001, while PEPE needs to surpass $0.000001 to maintain growth momentum.Short-Term Goals: Investments in these coins should focus on modest profit goals rather than expecting a $1 target.
👉 Summary: While SHIB shows greater potential than PEPE, the likelihood of either reaching $1 is very low. Such an event would require a massive shift in the entire cryptocurrency market and significant advancements in the strategies of each project.

$XRP
XRP’s price action has remained relatively flat, with no major updates in recent developments. However, technical analysis shows a reaction taking place at the lower boundary of a potential triangle pattern. Here’s a breakdown of the current situation and what to watch for moving forward. At the time of writing, XRP is up more than five percent and is trading at $2.12.
XRP has shown a slight reaction with the trendline now touched three times. While this trendline is important, it has not yet confirmed the completion of a clear pattern. The current move could be part of a deeper wave within a larger Elliott Wave triangle.

Current View: Horizontal Triangle in Play

The analysis over the past few weeks has not changed much. $XRP appears to be in the process of forming a wave 4, with price action likely to follow a triangle structure. Since triangles are fragile patterns that can change unexpectedly, it is important to stay alert to key levels for any changes in market structure.
Key Levels to Watch: Resistance and Support
Support: $1.95 and $1.90
Resistance: $2.42
The $2.42 level is particularly relevant as it aligns with a potential wave C target. Historical price patterns show that wave C often mirrors the length of wave A, with the 61.8% extension playing a significant role.

What to expect next

If $XRP reaches the $2.42 – $2.45 range, it could face significant resistance. Additionally, the trendline in this area could halt further upside momentum. While there is no guarantee that XRP will reach this area, it is an important area to watch.
A rejection at this level suggests that the structure is nearing completion, potentially leading to a bullish breakout. On the other hand, a sudden drop could shift the focus to a more bearish outlook, with support levels between $1.39 and $1.80 becoming more relevant.