Bitcoin (BTC) has had a week like no other, hitting fresh record highs of $28,400 and staying about the pinnacle — what's adjacent.

As markets return to digest a wild Christmas, Cointelegraph presents 5 factors set to assist with Bitcoin price direction this week.

Gilt surges as Trump signs stimulus balderdash

Markets have been spared a nightmare this week subsequently U.S. President Donald Trump agreed to sign off on Congress' $900 billion coronavirus stimulus bill.

Set up to add a large corporeality of debt to the Federal Reserve's existing mountain, the package includes various benefits for businesses but stops short of providing Americans with the aforementioned level of directly fiscal support seen in March.

Trump had said that the depression direct payment amount of the second stimulus — $600 confronting $ane,200 last time — meant that he could not condone it, but afterwards changed his mind.

Markets accept thus begun a new week on a positive annotation, with slight gains seen on S&P 500 futures prior to the Wall St. open.

At the same time, aureate has returned in style, with data showing that the precious metal is now on track for its biggest one-year gain in a decade.

Versus the end of November, XAU/USD is upwardly $111 or 6.25%.

XAU/USD daily candle nautical chart. Source: TradingView

"As President @realDonaldTrump vetoed just nine bills, the fewest number since Warren Harding, who served just two years, from 1921-1923," gold bug and infamous Bitcoin naysayer Peter Schiff tweeted every bit the beak was signed.

"Not since Chester Arthur (1881-1885) has a president who served a full term vetoed fewer bills. Y'all can't bleed the swamp by making it deeper."

Regulations coming for mainstream Bitcoin

After striking a fresh tone with a wider audience over Christmas with runs to new all-fourth dimension highs, Bitcoin may presently have to face up the music with the establishment, sources warn.

Hitting $28,400 and capping monthly gains of 55%, Bitcoin is at present firmly on regulators' radar as its mainstream appeal heightens. Even for its proponents, the side by side year may evidence to be a challenging fourth dimension.

With approachable Treasury Secretarial assistant Steven Mnuchin leaving his marker with an attempt to force new laws over noncustodial wallets, his replacement, Janet Yellen, may hardly be an comeback, they say.

"Generally, I remember nosotros take had challenges with the Dems — they prefer more regulation, more oversight," Meltem Demirors, master strategy officer at digital-nugget manager CoinShares, told Bloomberg on Dominicus.

"I am a bit worried well-nigh the direction things are trending."

Every bit always in the U.Southward., the patchwork of political allegiances ways that any assault may exist tempered by the presence of crypto-friendly figures elsewhere. The new chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Elad Roisman, is considered to exist a fan.

Bitcoin rebuttal at $28,400 "very healthy" — annotator

Concentrating on the latest Bitcoin spot market activity, Monday is shaping upwards to be a major exam for bulls given the momentum seen over the weekend.

After hitting all-time highs of $28,400 on Sun, Bitcoin saw a pullback which many had already expected.

"#Bitcoin undergoing a very healthy correction as information technology went quite vertical. Might be the temporary peak for now," Cointelegraph Markets analyst Michaël van de Poppe summarized on social media.

"What's next? Consolidation, sideways activity, less volatility. Giving space to the remainder of the markets to pace upwardly. $BTC pairs doing well."
BTC/USD hourly candle chart. Source: TradingView

Van de Poppe is eyeing the potential for altcoins to begin their response to Bitcoin's contempo glories, arguing that signs are already beginning to appear that "altseason" is around the corner.

"After #Bitcoin finishes the run (and it is quite vertical), the money will flow towards large caps. And later on that towards mid-caps and small caps," he continued.

"Altcoins are not dead, the money menstruation is still the same."

While floundering confronting BTC, some popular altcoins are still delivering significant returns in USD terms, with marketplace leader Ether (ETH) trading higher up $700 for the outset time since May 2018. Versus its lows of $113 in March, ETH/USD is now up 530%.

ETH and BTC vs. USD performance YTD. Source: Digital Avails Data

Tape Bitcoin futures gap

Bitcoin is contending with the largest "gap" to e'er appear on futures markets this week.

Data from CME Group'southward futures shows that on Fri, trading ended at effectually $23,825. Monday began with a wick to lows of $26,500 from opening levels, with the difference ranking every bit the biggest e'er seen in a weekend.

These so-called futures "gaps" refer to the void between Fri and Monday trading sessions, and the BTC/USD spot price has a habit of returning to "fill up" them afterward.

In recent weeks, withal, this trend has weakened, with gaps remaining between $sixteen,900 and $xix,500 which have only been partially filled.

This has in turn given rise to theories among analysts — including Cointelegraph's Van de Poppe — that Bitcoin could yet reverse downwards to revisit sub-$twenty,000 levels merely long plenty to take care of its unfinished business.

Should that not in fact occur, analysts may instead need to come to terms with the loss of what was one time a solid indicator of about-term Bitcoin price trajectory.

CME Bitcoin futures chart showing gap. Source: TradingView

Stock-to-menstruum forecasts the high

On the topic of cost trajectory, the latest action puts Bitcoin at odds with one of its best-known and most reliable price models — stock-to-period.

Later rising to hit exactly what the model's demands last week, the weekend ensured that BTC/USD outperformed, with Sunday's retracement to the mid $26,000 range ensuring compliance swiftly returned.

As noted by both its creator PlanB and Saifedean Ammous, author of "The Bitcoin Standard," Bitcoin is overall staying highly true-blue to what stock-to-flow requires on an almost daily basis.

"Bitcoin's price continues to track the predicted value from @100trillionUSD 's stock-to-catamenia model with astonishing precision," Ammous summarized.

Bitcoin stock-to-menses chart. Source: Digitalik

Going forrard, the model's various incarnations demand toll levels of anywhere betwixt $100,000 and $576,000 between at present and the terminate of the electric current halving cycle in 2024.