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Bitcoin (BTC-USD) is set to rise 7.4% in the week, as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the “time has come for policy to adjust.”
Powell talked about the monetary policy on Friday at the Kansas City Fed’s Jackson Hole Economic Symposium, themed “Reassessing the Effectiveness and Transmission of Monetary Policy.” BTC inched higher immediately after his comments.
The remark in the prepared text of his speech indicates that the Federal Open Market Committee will cut its policy rate at its Sept. 17-18 meeting from its current level of 5.25%-5.50%.
The cryptocurrency largely stayed above the $60K mark after the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics marked down the number of workers in payrolls by the most in 15 years.
The world’s oldest digital currency had briefly gone above the $60K resistance level on Tuesday, as it had attempted another break at going over the point. However, the cryptocurrency’s breakout attempt was unsuccessful on the day, as it slipped to ~$59K.
BTC, however, managed to finally break through on Wednesday, after the payrolls benchmark was revised down 818K, or by 0.5%, for the 12 months through March 2024.
“In crypto, prices are back to their familiar range with $60k being a magnet for BTC, as prices continue to consolidate in a slightly ascending channel, giving short-term traders hope that there is still energy left for an upward impulse,” -Augustine Fan, Head of Insights, SOFA.org said.
“From a technical perspective, Bitcoin is currently stuck in a price range, with a recent dip almost breaking out but not succeeding. The range between 56,561 and 61,750 is keeping both buyers and sellers cautious,” SA analyst Dean Popplewell said.
The longer BTC stays in this range, the more likely a strong breakout will happen, although it’s uncertain which direction it will take, Popplewell added.
Since the Aug. 4-5 market swoon, BTC had flirted the $60K level more than five separate times.
A broad interpretation of the data suggests that a weaker-than-expected economy results in more accommodative monetary policy by the Federal Reserve, which, in turn, drives Bitcoin (BTC-USD) prices higher than they would otherwise be. Only time will tell if this dynamic plays out in favor of BTC.
Notable News
BlackRock’s (BLK) iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA) emerged on Tuesday as the first spot Ether (ETH-USD) exchange-traded fund to exceed $1B in cumulative net inflows.
Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of MicroStrategy (MSTR), the world’s largest corporate owner of Bitcoin (BTC-USD), with an Overweight rating on the view that “demand for bitcoin will meaningfully accelerate from here.”
Canadian cryptocurrency mining company Bitfarms (BITF) to acquire Stronghold Digital Mining (SDIG) for ~$165M, fending off Riot Platforms (RIOT).
State Street (STT) is teaming up with Swiss crypto firm Taurus to provide digital asset services, including tokenization and custody, to institutional clients, the companies said on Tuesday.
Bitcoin, Ether prices
Bitcoin (BTC-USD) rose 4.8% to $63.2K at 3:13 pm on Friday. Ether (ETH-USD) up 4.5% at $2.7K.
