Bitcoin just cracked $8,500, and it means bulls are taking control

Over the past few hours, Bitcoin has exploded higher.

Bitcoin's macro trend is flipping bullish once again, analysts confirm.

There's no denying this move in the crypto markets caught many traders with their pants down, so to speak.

Per data from Skew, a cryptocurrency data firm, this move liquidated around $30 million worth of Bitcoin short positions, wiping out a lot of wealth in this space.

Mohit Sorout, a partner at Bitazu Capital, noted that with BTC's latest spike higher, it has broken above two key downtrend resistances that have constrained price action for the past seven months.

Financial Survivalism, a pseudonymous cryptocurrency trader that called BTC's ongoing price explosion when Bitcoin was in the low-$7,000s, noted that the Ichimoku Cloud-a sort of all-in-one indicator showing key price points and trends-is "Fully bullish," with the indicator printing three distinct signals that suggest prices will appreciate.

On the fundamental side of things, the CME Group just launched its Bitcoin options on Jan. 13, giving institutional investors, miners, and other players in this budding market a chance to better hedge risk and to make potentially more trading profits.

Although options may not be directly bullish for Bitcoin, executives like Changpeng "CZ" Zhao of Binance and Galaxy Digital's Mike Novogratz have said in the past that institutional involvement should lead to price appreciation in the crypto market.

Yes, the technicals and fundamentals are leaning bullish, but there are a number of resistances above the current Bitcoin price and bearish factors that may act as a roadblock to the ongoing rally.

While not a decisively bearish sign, former Wall Street analyst turned Bitcoin trader and educator Tone Vays said in a recent edition of his YouTube cryptocurrency market analyses that the negative funding rate in the BTC market has him worried about a potential retracement.