The minutes validated bets on a rate cut next month and said the “vast majority” of policymakers believed that if the data came in as expected, a September cut would likely be appropriate.
As of 1:06 PM IST, Bitcoin (BTC) was up 2% in the last 24 hours, trading at $60,798. Ethereum (ETH) gained 1.2%, trading at $2,631.
Cryptocurrency Tracking
“As BTC bulls show strength above $60,000, bears have started to show interest in the 21-week exponential moving average at $61,200 to push BTC back to the early $60,000 levels. If that doesn’t happen, there’s a good chance we’ll see an all-time high in Bitcoin soon,” CoinSwitch Markets Desk said.“The rally was further supported by a downward revision to US employment growth data, indicating that the labor market from March 2023 to March 2024 was not as robust as initially expected. This fueled market participants’ hopes for more substantial interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve, which are expected sooner,” CoinSwitch added. Meanwhile, Shivam Thakral, CEO of BuyUcoin, commented: “Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies surged after the FOMC meeting minutes, which suggested a potential interest rate cut in September. The lower interest rates will improve market liquidity as borrowing costs decline.” Market participants are now awaiting the initial US jobless claims data, due at 6:00 PM IST, and comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell at the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium on Friday. “Bitcoin could potentially surge to $63,500 if today’s US jobless claims report shows a decline in claims,” said Vikram Subburaj, CEO of Giottus.
The broader cryptocurrency market saw gains across major tokens including BNB, XRP, Dogecoin, Uniswap, Polkadot, Polygon, Chainlink and Shiba Inu, which rose as much as 11%.
The volume of all stablecoins is now $65.33 billion, or 92.97% of the total 24-hour cryptocurrency market volume, according to data available on CoinMarketCap.
In the last 24 hours, the market cap of Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, has reached $1.2 trillion. Bitcoin dominance is currently at 56.95%, according to CoinMarketCap. BTC volume in the last 24 hours has increased by 30% to $34.9 billion.
Technical viewpoint by ZebPay Trade Desk
Despite a 21% gain since retesting the sub-$50,000 level on August 5, Bitcoin has struggled to maintain a price above $62,000. In contrast, the S&P 500 has fully recovered and is now trading just 1% below its July 16 all-time high. Bitcoin is facing mixed signals: derivatives metrics show tepid buying interest, while macroeconomic indicators suggest a move away from cash positions. Interestingly, these gains in equity markets have occurred alongside a notable decline in US Treasury yields, indicating strong demand for traditional assets. With the September Federal Reserve decision looming, it appears that traders are hesitant to increase their exposure to crypto assets, making it difficult for Bitcoin to regain the $62,000 level.
Over the past few months, Bitcoin has continued to struggle to hold above the $70,000 mark as prices corrected by nearly 25% and hit a low of $49,000. However, the asset failed to give a daily close below the key support at $52,500 and the lower longer shadow around $50,000 indicated a buy and it rallied all the way to $62,745. Currently, BTC is trading sideways in a range of $57,500 to $62,000 with low volumes. Breakouts on either side of the range with good volumes will further determine the trend of the asset.
(Disclaimer: The recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. They do not represent the views of The Economic Times)
