Bitcoin's march to $100,000 stalls. Here's what's keeping it below the milestone

Bitcoin is trading stubbornly beneath the $100,000 mark, putting the brakes connected a blistering rally that's seen the cryptocurrency emergence to touching region of the cardinal intelligence level.

The world's biggest cryptocurrency has risen implicit 40% since Nov. 5, the time of the U.S. predetermination which saw Donald Trump re-elected arsenic president.

Trump's inauguration isn't until Jan. 20, 2025, but that hasn't stopped his pro-crypto commentary from boosting sentiment.

Bitcoin deed a caller grounds precocious past week, with prices climbing supra $99,000 for the archetypal time. However prices person since taken a breather, and bitcoin was trading astir $98,243.25 aboriginal Monday, according to CoinGecko information — up lone a fraction of a percent connected the day.

CNBC asked analysts for their instrumentality connected wherefore bitcoin has truthful acold failed to breach the widely-watched $100,000 mark.

Andre Dragosch, caput of probe for Europe astatine crypto-focused plus absorption steadfast Bitwise, said bitcoin was apt being kept beneath the intelligence obstruction arsenic investors instrumentality nett from its sizable post-election rally.

Bitcoin has "so acold failed to breach" $100,000 due to the fact that "long-term holders person started to administer important amounts of bitcoins into the caller rally," Dragosch said successful a probe enactment shared Monday.

Bitcoin

He added helium expects the bitcoin rally to "take a interruption successful the abbreviated word arsenic sentiment remains elevated and positioning appears to beryllium somewhat stretched."

However, "this could beryllium a bull marketplace correction alternatively than a alteration successful trend," Dragosch said, adding that overall, "bitcoin valuations are inactive acold distant from being excessive."

A compression connected proviso of bitcoin resulting from events specified arsenic the alleged "halving" earlier this twelvemonth — which resulted successful the issuance of caller bitcoin to miners being reduced by fractional — will proceed to enactment prices heading into 2025, helium added.

"There's a ton of leverage successful the strategy close now," Novogratz, a longtime crypto investor, told CNBC's "Squawk Box" connected Friday. "The crypto assemblage is levered to the gills, and truthful determination volition beryllium a correction."

Novogratz added that he's advocating investors bargain "straight bitcoin" alternatively than bitcoin-exposed plays, specified arsenic MicroStrategy which owns a huge, multi-billion-dollar heap of bitcoin successful its firm treasury reserves.

He besides flagged that 1 chartless seller has been dumping crypto successful caller days, which could beryllium pressuring the token's price. "There had been a elephantine seller for the past week, betwixt 92, 93 and 94. Probably $14-$15 cardinal of bitcoin sold there," Novogratz said connected air.

David Morrison, elder marketplace expert astatine brokerage steadfast Trade Nation, said that though $100,000 is simply a "nice circular number," it "feels arsenic if it has go a precocious hurdle, if not a barrier, for further gains."

"If bitcoin starts to slice from here, that could beryllium each we get — especially if longer word holders determine to currency retired early," Morrison told CNBC via email.

Nevertheless, helium added that there's a "strong probability that upside momentum tin physique up capable vigor for a surge done here."

"If so, past that could beryllium the trigger for different propulsion higher," Morrison said.

Marion Laboure, strategist astatine Deutsche Bank, said that though Trump has indicated continued enactment for bitcoin and the broader crypto industry, immoderate imaginable of factual national crypto authorities remained immoderate mode off.

Pro-crypto pledges by Trump see turning the U.S. into a planetary crypto hub, forming a strategical nationalist crypto stockpile, and replacing Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler — who past week announced helium would resign connected Jan. 20.

Deutsche Bank's Laboure said she thinks the thought of a U.S. national bitcoin is inactive acold off, practically speaking.

Meanwhile, large reforms volition "require legislature support connected time, which makes these ambitious semipermanent goals much oregon little achievable, and determination is besides immoderate imaginable turbulence of these reforms to autumn abbreviated of marketplace expectations," she told CNBC's "Squawk Box Europe."

Nevertheless, Laboure added that she sees regularisation arsenic "a nett affirmative for the industry."