Bitcoin (BTC) is on the verge of hitting the $100,000 mark, trading just above $99,000 following a recent price surge. The cryptocurrency’s market continues to exhibit robust strength, with U.S. spot BTC ETFs attracting more than $1 billion in net inflows, led by BlackRock's IBIT with $600 million.

Despite high demand and optimistic forecasts, a short-term downturn near the $100,000 level is anticipated. BTC prices are currently only slightly more than 1% away from this milestone, nearly 15 years after the cryptocurrency's initial issuance.

Key Highlights:

• Bitcoin (BTC) is just above $99,000, close to $100K.
• U.S. spot BTC ETFs have gained over $1 billion in net inflows.
• Anticipated short-term pullback near the $100,000 mark.

The overall cryptocurrency market capitalization has peaked at an all-time high of $3.4 trillion, growing 4.5% in the last 24 hours, mainly due to Bitcoin's 2% jump, which constitutes over 56% of the total market cap.

Following BTC’s upward trend, other significant cryptocurrencies are also experiencing gains, including Ether (ETH) which rose nearly 9% over the past day, further lifting various indices tracking the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector. Additionally, notable Ethereum-based memecoins have surged up to 27%, driven by their correlation with ETH's performance.

Moreover, Solana’s SOL recorded a robust rise of 8%, reaching new heights above $260 amidst continued speculative trading. XRP stood out with a remarkable 25% increase following the SEC chair Gary Gensler's announcement of his departure in January, alleviating certain challenges for market tokens related to U.S. enterprises.

As we approach the end of the year, traders remain hopeful, believing that as global monetary policies ease, demand for BTC will support its price, despite the potential for a short-term pullback.