This week the price of Bitcoin has temporarily entered a new phase. This is a phase characterized by a substantial absence of directionality. This translates into minor movements, almost irrelevant except in the very short term. Summary The lateralization The bullrun The dollar The crypto markets The lateralization In this regard, the hypothesis is increasingly circulating that the price of Bitcoin may have entered a phase of sideways movement that could last even until mid-September. In fact, the key moment might arrive only on September 17, when the Fed will announce its new decision on interest rates. To tell the truth, the markets are already taking for granted that it will opt for a 25 basis point cut (something already widely priced in), but as often happens, it could be the words spoken by the Fed Chairman Jerome Powell that move the markets. Until then, it is possible that we will remain essentially on hold, also because September has often been a month that is not particularly lively in the markets. Moreover, August is absolutely one of the least lively months on average, so the situation does not suggest major movements. However, this does not mean that the price of Bitcoin will not experience fluctuations. The hypothesis is that it could be a volatile lateralization, meaning with continuous price changes, but relatively contained and without directionality. In the end, therefore, the price of Bitcoin might simply oscillate above and below the current levels, even though nothing excludes that it might dip a bit below, or rise a bit above, only to perhaps return to where it started. The bullrun Nothing, however, excludes that, once this period of possible sideways movement is over, a new bullrun could begin. Certainly, the period of sideways movement will end sooner or later, even though no one knows when. At that point, depending on how the market moves, there could also be conditions for the restart of the bullrun. It should be remembered that during past cycles, in the last months of the year following the presidential elections in the USA, the price of Bitcoin not only has always reached new all-time highs, but it has also been driven by enormous speculative bubbles. The only exception was 2009, the year of Bitcoin’s birth, because at that time Bitcoin was not traded on any exchange, and therefore had a market value of zero. The hypothesis that a speculative bubble might inflate again this autumn exists, also due to the possible decline of the dollar. The dollar The trend of Bitcoin’s price tends to be inversely correlated with that of the Dollar Index in the medium term. Currently, the Dollar Index is still moving within a descending channel that started in January of this year. However, it is a very wide channel, meaning with strong oscillations both above and below the average level, so much so that in reality, starting from mid-July, it has been moving sideways around the current figures (about 98.5 points). In a moment like this, it is very difficult for Bitcoin to have the strength to start rising again, and according to several analysts, this situation should persist for a while longer. However, the hypothesis still circulates that in the autumn the Dollar Index could start to fall again, that is, resume the descending trend that began in January, with a consequent halt to the current mini-phase of lateralization. If it happens to us, it is reasonable to expect a recovery in the rise of Bitcoin. The crypto markets Currently, the crypto markets are essentially limiting themselves to following the trend mentioned above, which is essentially that of Bitcoin. It should be highlighted, however, that while until a few months ago the altcoin season index of CMC indicated a clear and distinct Bitcoin season, being below the 25 mark, for several weeks now it has returned to a neutral zone. In other words, in the current state, it might not take much to climb back above 75 points, indicating the start of an altseason, a period in which altcoins as a whole outperform Bitcoin. Therefore, while at the moment the crypto market follows Bitcoin, if the situation were to unlock, many altcoins could start to move independently from BTC, as has already happened several times in the past during altseasons. However, it should be remembered that altseasons generally last a short time, more or less a few weeks, or at most a couple of months.