While bitcoin (BTC), ethereum (ETH), and most of the broader crypto market rose higher in price today, a number of researchers and analysts are arguing that the crypto market may be bottoming out and that it could be in for a bullish ride later in the year, prompted by a number of possible catalysts. Still, they urge caution.

At 14:32 UTC, BTC trades at USD 43,400 and is up almost 5% in a day and 14% in a week. ETH trades at USD 3,118, increasing by 4% in a day and 19% in a week.

Bitcoin's move higher on Monday brought the price of the coin above its 50-day moving average line, an important level in the chart often followed by technical analysts. The crossing marks the first time since November last year that bitcoin has traded above the key level, and could indicate that a more bullish chart structure is in the making.

“Bitcoin has broken some key levels and a downward-trending line here over the past few days and is showing signs of bullishness,” Vijay Ayyar, head of Asia-Pacific at crypto exchange Luno told Bloomberg in a comment today.

He added that BTC is “capped by the 50-DMA and needs to close above it,” and that a likely near-term target would be in the USD 46,000 to 47,000 area.

At the time of writing, data from crypto exchange Binance showed that bitcoin’s 50-day moving average stood at USD 42,795.

BTC saw strong bullish action on Friday when the coin shot up above USD 40,000 after trading below the psychologically important level for two weeks, while ETH broke above the key USD 3,000 mark the next day.

BTC price last 14 days:

Ethereum's gains are recorded on a day when the native tokens of other smart contract protocols jumped even more, with Solana’s SOL up 6%, Polkadot’s DOT up 7%, and Avalanche’s AVAX up 11% over