Leading cryptocurrencies rose Sunday as traders returned from Thanksgiving to pursue Bitcoin's critical $100,000 target.

What Happened: Bitcoin sailed past $97,000, rising to an intraday high of $97,835. The world's leading cryptocurrency followed a corrective trajectory last week after coming within touching distance of the $100,000 mark.

Ethereum chopped in the $3,700 zone, following an impressive run last week that saw the second-largest cryptocurrency surge over 12%.

Both Bitcoin and Ethereum registered a dip in their dominance as other altcoins grew their market share.

Total cryptocurrency liquidations reached $294 million in the last 24 hours, with short liquidations exceeding longs.

Bitcoin's Open Interest (OI) rose 1.82% in the last 24 hours, while the number of traders going long on the asset surged dramatically vis-à-vis those betting against its rise.

The "Extreme Greed" sentiment fell marginally from 81 to 80 in the last 24 hours, according to the Cryptocurrency Fear & Greed Index.

Top Gainers (24-Hours)

The global cryptocurrency market capitalization stood at $3.48 trillion, following an increase of 1.67% in the last 24 hours.

Stock futures edged lower Sunday overnight. The Dow Jones Industrial Average Futures dropped 50 points, or 0.11%, as of 7:37 p.m. EDT.  Futures tied to the S&P 500 fell 0.12%, while Nasdaq 100 Futures dipped 0.18%.

These moves followed what was 2024's best month for blue-chip indexes, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 rallying 6.80% and 5.20%, respectively, after Donald Trump won the presidential election.

This week's focus will be on the crucial monthly jobs report for November, slated for Friday, to ascertain the Federal Reserve's monetary easing course ahead of the FOMC meeting later in the month.

Analyst Notes: Popular cryptocurrency analyst Rekt Capital noted Bitcoin's attempts to breach the bull flag top.

"A daily close above the bull flag resistance of ~$97,450 could kickstart additional trend continuation to get closer to challenging $100,000 once again," the analyst remarked.

#BTC
Bitcoin is now trying to press beyond the Bull Flag top
A Daily Close above the Bull Flag resistance of ~$97450 could kickstart additional trend continuation to get closer to challenging $100,000 once again$BTC #Crypto #Bitcoin  pic.twitter.com/Gc08JtulZc

— Rekt Capital (@rektcapital) December 1, 2024

Another widely-followed analyst Kingpin Crypto, highlighted how December has been an "extremely green month" for Bitcoin during halving years, with monthly gains of 46.92% and 30.8% recorded in the previous two.

"Considering these factors, Bitcoin leans towards closing green this month. There is also more than a decent chance that Bitcoin actually closes above $100,000 this month," the analyst predicted.

$BTC – On average, December has been a bullish month for Bitcoin, for the past decade.
Now when we look at just the halving years, December has been an extremely green month 100% of the time ever since 2012.
Considering these factors, Bitcoin leans towards closing green.

— Kingpin Crypto (@Kingpincrypto12) December 1, 2024