Bitcoin (BTC<\/a>) stayed rangebound after hitting ten-day highs on Dec. 22 amid fresh warnings over market “complacency.”<\/p>\n Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro<\/a> and TradingView<\/a>\u00a0followed BTC\/USD as it consolidated after coming within $400 of $50,000<\/a> overnight.<\/p>\n Bulls were up against a significant sell wall around the psychologically significant level, with analysts calling for $50,500 to hit and hold in order to flip positive on short timeframes.<\/p>\n “Today the seas will be parted making way for a shot at a higher low on BTC,” popular trader Pentoshi tweeted<\/a> in a characteristic social media post.\u00a0<\/p>\n “I beg of bears, please. Come on the Ark. Come to safety. Ride with us to the dry lands of 53k where all can win and embrace in glory.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n While the “Santa rally” has so far evaded both crypto and traditional markets, looking ahead, some were betting on a turnaround over the new year period.<\/p>\n For trading firm QCP Capital, the key lay in forthcoming low liquidity over the holidays which could spark a short squeeze in an overly nonchalant market setup.<\/p>\n “We reckon the market is getting complacent as spot ranges compress in this 45,500 – 49,500 channel. And now would be a great time to buy some wings (far strikes),” it advised<\/a> Wednesday.<\/p>\n “…We maintain our view that there will be a squeeze (likely to the topside) as liquidity thins out into the holidays and into 2022. If this happens, owning wings would be very profitable.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Funding rates on exchanges were positive yet neutral across exchanges at the time of writing, data from Coinglass showed<\/a>, hinting at a lack of speculative activity.<\/p>\n Macro cues remained muted at the Wall Street open, meanwhile, as a 4.3% jump in Tesla (TSLA) stock failed to impact Bitcoin performance.<\/p>\n Related:\u00a0Missed out on hot crypto stocks in 2021? It paid just to buy Bitcoin and Ethereum, data shows<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n The S&P 500 was slightly up after the opening bell, while the Coronavirus panic which had characterized<\/a> the previous week appeared to subside.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/s3.cointelegraph.com\/uploads\/2021-12\/79041f1b-2708-4eac-a815-653cda0fc952.png\")
How about a new year squeeze?<\/h2>\n
![](\"https:\/\/s3.cointelegraph.com\/uploads\/2021-12\/b7376e2b-f44d-457d-8541-9c8281be447b.png\")
Dollar abandons fresh gains<\/h2>\n
![](\"https:\/\/s3.cointelegraph.com\/uploads\/2021-12\/bdcb77ca-67ba-4753-8c20-1b18d71a019a.png\")