• Bitcoin (BTC) climbed towards $107K over the weekend, trading around $106,332 despite U.S. domestic unrest.
• President Trump deployed 2,000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles amid an immigration-related standoff.
• BTC showed strong support at $105,400 and broke resistance around $106,100 with strong volume.

Bitcoin (BTC) continued its steady ascent over the weekend, trading above $105,623.12 and pushing towards the $107,000 mark, even as domestic tensions escalated in the United States, notably in Los Angeles.

The cryptocurrency market appeared largely unfazed by the unsettling headlines, showcasing a degree of resilience that underscores its growing perception as a hedge against uncertainty.

The backdrop to Bitcoin’s steady performance was a significant immigration-related standoff in Los Angeles.

According to a report by CNBC, the situation saw over 100 arrests as clashes persisted between protesters and federal agents.

This prompted President Trump to authorize the deployment of 2,000 National Guard troops to the area.

By Sunday morning, elements of the 79th Infantry Brigade had arrived on-site, as confirmed by Northern Command.

The potential for further escalation was highlighted by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who warned that US Marines stationed at Camp Pendleton could also be mobilized if the violence continued.

Despite these significant domestic developments, Bitcoin’s price action remained remarkably stable, hovering around $106,332 by Sunday.

This suggests that crypto investors are, for now, treating the unrest as a localized regional event rather than a systemic crisis capable of derailing the digital asset market.

Technical picture: consolidation with bullish undertones

Bitcoin traded within a relatively narrow range over the weekend, fluctuating approximately $1,057 between a low of $105,043 and a high of $106,101, before pushing to its current level around $106,332.

The price demonstrated a strong rebound after a brief dip below $105,100, with buying interest re-emerging robustly around the $105,400 support level, according to CoinDesk Research’s technical analysis model.

An early attempt to break out above the $106,100 mark encountered selling pressure, which created a high-volume resistance zone.

While this upward move was initially short-lived due to some profit-taking, Bitcoin managed to hold onto its gains.

The overall consolidation structure remains bullish, with a consistent pattern of higher lows hinting at the potential for a sustained push towards the $107,000 level, should the immediate resistance break cleanly.

This tendency for Bitcoin to attract buyers during dips, despite broader macroeconomic headwinds, further underscores its perceived role as a hedge in times of rising uncertainty.

Key technical levels and market dynamics

A closer look at the technical indicators provides further insight into Bitcoin’s recent price action and potential near-term movements:

• Trading range: BTC traded within a $1,288 range (representing 1.22% of its value) between a low of $105,043.65 and a 24-hour high of $106,332.

• Resistance break: Initial resistance observed around the 105,900–106,100 zone was decisively broken as prices surged beyond this area with strong trading volume during the early afternoon.

• Support holds: The support level at $105,400 held firm despite several retests, reinforcing the prevailing bullish sentiment in the market.

• Breakout and stabilization: A clear breakout to $106,332 occurred around 13:48, which was followed by minor profit-taking activity before the price stabilized above the $106,000 mark.

• Ascending trend: The hourly chart reveals an ascending trend characterized by consistent higher lows, a pattern that invalidates earlier interpretations of a “pump and dump” scenario.

• Next target: With current momentum intact, market analysts suggest that BTC may test the $107,000 resistance level, provided that the current support near $105,800 continues to hold.

This technical picture, combined with Bitcoin’s apparent decoupling from localized domestic strife, paints a cautiously optimistic outlook for the leading cryptocurrency as it navigates a complex global landscape.

In a recent announcement, the Ethereum (ETH) Foundation revealed that the highly anticipated Dencun network upgrade had been successfully activated on all testnets.

The upgrade, scheduled to go live on the Ethereum mainnet on March 13, 2024, marks a significant milestone in the protocol’s efforts to enhance scalability and reduce user transaction costs.

Ethereum’s Latest Milestone

The Dencun upgrade, following the successful Shapella upgrade of last year, introduces several notable changes aimed at improving the Ethereum network’s efficiency and capacity. 

One key feature is the introduction of temporary data blobs through Ethereum Improvement Proposal 4844, affectionately known as “protodanksharding.” This addition is expected to reduce layer-2 transaction fees, making Ethereum more accessible and cost-effective for users.

Blobs minimize storage and processing requirements by caching the necessary data for short-term transaction verification, further enhancing the network’s transactional capabilities.

As announced, these features are paramount in supporting the growing ecosystem of decentralized applications (dApps) and accommodating the number of users on the Ethereum platform.

Urgent Update Required

To ensure a smooth transition to the upgraded mainnet, the Ethereum Foundation has issued specifications for the community, particularly for stakeholders and node operators. Users are advised to update their node’s execution and consensus layer clients to the specific versions outlined by the Foundation. 

Both the beacon node and validator client should be updated to ensure compatibility with the Dencun upgrade. Failure to participate in the upgrade by using an outdated Ethereum client would result in being stuck on an incompatible chain, unable to send Ether, or operating on the post-Dencun Ethereum network.

The Dencun upgrade initially launched on the Sepolia testnet in January 2024, following its successful deployment on the Goerli testnet. According to the official statement, this upgrade aligns with the network’s broader strategy to address scalability challenges and improve the protocol’s overall performance. 

Once fully implemented, the Dencun upgrade is expected to significantly increase ETH’s transaction processing capacity, potentially enabling the network to handle over 100,000 transactions per second. 

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Ultimately, the Foundation unveiled that “Dencun” for this upgrade follows Ethereum’s tradition of using star names for consensus and Devcon city names for execution layer upgrades. “Dencun” is a combination of “Deneb,” a prominent first magnitude star in the constellation Cygnus, and “Cancun,” the location of Devcon 3.

ETH, the second-largest cryptocurrency in the market, is currently trading at $3,242, reflecting a 3% increase in the past 24 hours and an impressive surge of over 42% in the past 30 days.

Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com