Near-term indicators point to a breather for bitcoin

FILE PHOTO: Representations of cryptocurrencies Bitcoin, Ethereum, DogeCoin, Ripple, Litecoin are placed on PC motherboard in this illustration taken, June 29, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

(Reuters) - Cryptocurrency market indicators such as average bitcoin funding rates, inflows into crypto investment products and the ratio of old-to-new coins being sold suggest a near-term consolidation for the sector and lower odds of a year-end rally bitcoin bulls are predicting.

Bitcoin rose 1.6% on Friday to $57,850.56 but was on track for weekly losses of over 11%, its worst week since May. It is 16% lower than its Nov. 10 record high of $69,000. Ether, the second-biggest cryptocurrency by market value, was 14% off of its peak at $4,202.45.