Bitcoin continued to trade flat on Monday after being unable to clear $25,000, with major technical indicators signalling buyer exhaustion.  At press time, the world’s largest cryptocurrency was trading at $23,378, up 0.94% in the past 24 hours.

Ether, albeit looking just like Bitcoin, however, experienced a 2.22% spike and was trading at $1,638 at the time of writing. The surge has been attributed to the excitement around the upcoming Shanghai upgrade that will enable validators to unlock their staked ether. Earlier today, Tim Beiko and other Ethereum developers reminded node operators to update their Ethereum clients before the Capella upgrade on Feb 28 to be able to withdraw their stake Eth when shanghai comes.

Other cryptos also recorded stunted growth, with Shiba Inu, BNB, dogecoin and BNB gaining less than a percentage point over the past 24 hours. Overall most coins were in the red at press time.

Meanwhile, as Bitcoin continues to be whipsawed by regulatory and macroeconomic headwinds, some traders predict that the top crypto may soon pull a surprise move after overcoming key resistance levels.

Marc Principato, a chartered market technician and founder of Marcpmarkets, noted that a bitcoin long swing trade could come into play from the $23,250, adding that “the short-term trend is bullish.”

“If bullish momentum follows through, a higher high can follow with a test of the 26 to 28K AREA over the coming week,” he said. 

According to Michaël van de Poppe, founder and CEO of crypto trading platform Eight Global, Bitcoin could pull back after price rejection at $23.8 to at least $22,000 before aiming for $25,000.

“Scenario I´d be looking at, right now for Bitcoin. Rejecting at crucial $23.8K level would indicate that we´ll be having another test of the support. If that sweep happens and we reclaim, $25K test is inevitable and longs are triggered,” he tweeted earlier today.

On the other hand, according to Cryptoquant’s pseudonymous analyst “Binh Dang”, Bitcoin may have hit bottom, although we might see a prolonged sideways market. The pundit shared a chart showing that the realized price of UTxOs age bands from 6-12 months intersected with the realized price UTxOs age bands from 12 -18 months. Historically, when these bands crossed, the market price often reached its lowest point.

He also noted that the Bitcoin price had fallen below the 200-week average, adding that the asset “still needs a noticeable break above this significant resistance level to confirm a new bull cycle.”

“With every market move happening below this resistance is an excellent opportunity for significant accumulations. I expect a sideways action long enough, like 2015-2016, to move towards sustainable growth rather than rushing like in 2019,” he said.