(Kitco News) – Cryptocurrency markets ended this week with the same volatility as the past four days of trading, as Bitcoin (BTC) price experienced a 4% intraday price swing while consolidating near the $68,000 support. .
For the stock market, it was a day when the major indexes regained some of the ground they lost in late Thursday afternoon declines. The decline was triggered by Minnesota Federal Reserve President Kashkari suggesting the Fed might not cut interest rates at all. If inflation remains high, that's likely to happen again this year.
Stocks have rebounded despite the explosive impact of US employment data, with payrolls increasing by 303,000 in March, well above expectations of 200,000. This, combined with some recent higher-than-expected inflation and rising tensions in the Middle East, is spooking investors and making the Fed's interest rate decisions even more difficult.
Despite the threat of an extended period of higher interest rates and a possible rate hike, the S&P, Dow, and Nasdaq ended the day with gains, rising 1.10%, 0.85%, and 1.20%, respectively.
According to data provided by TradingView, Bitcoin bears took control of the price movement early Friday, sending the price plummeting from a high of $68,780 to a low around $66,000, before bulls It shows that it managed to regain control and push back above $67,500.
BTC/USD Charts by TradingView
At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at $67,703, down 0.33% on the 24-hour chart.
Uncertainty about interest rate cuts leads to volatility
“Bitcoin is currently floating in a symmetrical triangular formation with no definitive direction,” said analysts at Secure Digital Markets. “After rebounding from the lower end of the triangle near $64,500, we expect the momentum to propel it towards the recent peak of $72,000.”
“The ETF market has seen solid inflows and we believe it is likely to break this pattern to new all-time highs in the short term due to the impending supply shock the market anticipates,” they added. Ta. “In terms of ETF activity, the market remains bullish with net inflows reaching $106.8 million, but Grayscale outflows were relatively modest at $79.3 million.”
They pointed out that while Bitcoin is showing strength, altcoins are at risk of falling, highlighting the struggles of the Ethereum (ETH) price.
“The ETH/BTC ratio, a metric often associated with leadership during the altcoin market rally, makes fun of its recent lows,” analysts said. “This underperformance of ETH could signal a rise in cautious sentiment and a decline in enthusiasm for altcoins.”
“March saw a notable increase in trading volume, with spot trading on centralized exchanges increasing 108% to $2.94 trillion. This is the highest level since May 2021 and the sixth consecutive month. '', they noted. “Derivative trading volume also increased by 86.5% to a record high of $6.18 trillion, but its share of the total virtual currency market decreased slightly from 70.1% in February to 67.8%, the first since December 2022. reached a low level.”
Analysts at Secure Digital Markets cited the broader financial market turmoil and said, “Nonfarm payrolls increased by 303,000 in March, above expectations of 212,000, and the unemployment rate “The decline to 3.8% underlines the resilience of the market, but complicates the outlook.'' for interest rate cuts. ”
“Neel Kashkari's comments on inflation and interest rate adjustment underline his cautious stance on monetary policy easing, especially in the absence of clear signs of inflation stabilization.” “While Mr. Kashkari’s influence on the Federal Open Market Committee has been noted, his voting rights will not be affected until 2026. Meanwhile, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s comments earlier this week indicated that the Fed will not be able to decide interest rates. “It is time to fully assess inflation trends, and the timeline for a potential rate cut is uncertain.”
Altcoins end the week in the red
Only 20 tokens in the top 200 recorded gains during Friday's volatile trading.
Daily cryptocurrency market performance. Source: Coin360
Yield Guild Games (YGG) rose 20.71% to lead the gainers, while NEAR Protocol (NEAR) rose 8.6% and Toncoin (TON) rose 7%. Memecoin Cat in Dogs World (MEW) led the losers with a 27.7% decline, followed by Aragon (ANT) with a 20.3% decline and Biconomy (BICO) with a 19.4% decline.
Currently, the total market capitalization of virtual currencies is $2.52 trillion, with Bitcoin controlling 52.7%.
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