Bitcoin 

BTC

$18,927

 neared $50,000 on Dec. 22 as hopes began to appear that the price correction could be over.

Get bullish once $50,500 breaks — Analyst

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD hit highs of $49,600 on Bitstamp — its highest since Dec. 13.

A cross-crypto boost from turmoil in the Turkish lira Monday lingered in spirit as Bitcoin and altcoins stayed higher, with attention now focusing on the new year and price levels above $50,000.

“The first breakthrough has happened on Bitcoin. But, we still need to break enough levels to state that we’re bullish," Cointelegraph contributor Michaël van de Poppe declared overnight.

“Overall, a breakthrough at $50.5-51.5K and I’m convinced. Also, 2022 should become a great year overall.”

With $50,000 constituting psychological resistance, others turned to on-chain metrics for further proof of underlying strength on Bitcoin.

Among them was fund manager Dan Tapiero, who noted bullish signals on the moving average convergence divergence (MACD) indicator in what has historically been a time to buy.

“Rallies start when least expected/when tired bulls give up,” he summarized.

MACD involves the relationship between two exponential moving averages on BTC/USD, and a rebound from a downtrend has preceded price run-ups.

The last time the buy signal appeared was at the end of September, right before Bitcoin rose to top new all-time highs just over one month later.

Sentiment index almost doubles

In more encouraging signs for investors, altcoins began posting more significant daily gains through Wednesday.

Related: Price analysis 12/20: BTC, ETH, BNB, SOL, ADA, XRP, LUNA, AVAX, DOT, DOGE

Ether 

ETH

$1,409

, the largest altcoin by market capitalization, maintained $4,000, while standout Terra (LUNA) was up 16% at the time of writing.

Ripple’s

XRP

$0.37

token traded up 9%, with none of the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market cap in the red.

“If I’d want to position myself well, I’d want to buy into crypto at this stage,” van de Poppe added.

“The sentiment is still not the best, while many altcoins are down a lot, some even 80% since their ATH. The adoption is even growing and price-wise, those coins are in heavy support zones.”

The Crypto Fear & Greed Index saw a significant uptick overnight, jumping from 27 to 45 but still characterizing the market as being in “fear” mode.