Bitcoin
Bitcoin
The bitcoin price has climbed from around $40,000 at the beginning of the year, past its peak of $70,000 before falling back to around $60,000—though Apple has quietly primed the market for an iPhone earthquake.
Now, as some crypto experts bet China could be about to open up its digital doors to crypto, economists are calling on China to begin monetary stimulus to bolster the country’s flagging economy.
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Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell could be about to signal a cut to interest rates as the bitcoin … [+]
China could increase this year’s special sovereign bonds to $420 billion, Zhang Ming, deputy director of government think tank the Institute of Finance and Banking at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told Bloomberg, after China’s economic growth has fallen short official expectations this year in the aftermath of Covid-era lockdowns.
Earlier this week, Beijing-based analyst Zichen Wang polled economists who called for increased government spending and found consensus that “aids could at least go to low-income groups.”
Last week, Arthur Hayes, a cofounder of bitcoin and crypto derivatives pioneer BitMex who went on to set up the Maelstrom investment fund, wrote in a blog post that he expects China to next year “finally unleash its long-awaited bazooka fiscal stimulus,” predicting the China-America “crypto bull market shall be glorious.”
The expected China stimulus comes as all eyes are on Jackson Hole, Wyoming, this morning as traders anxiously await Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell’s speech from the annual economic symposium of central bankers which is widely expected to strike a dovish tone and cue up a September interest rate cut.
Earlier this week, the Federal Open Market Committee’s (FOMC) July meeting minutes revealed policymakers are even more dovish than thought, suggesting their ready for rates to begin coming down after rocketing to 23-year highs at a historical pace through the Biden administration.
If Powell disappoints markets, it could trigger a tsunami of a crypto and stock crash after traders went all in on at least a quarter-point rate cut at the Fed’s September meeting with many betting on a full percentage point reduction in interest rates by the end of 2024, according to futures markets.
The bitcoin price has surged this year, topping its previous all-time highs.
The bitcoin price has this week traded sideways ahead of Fed chair Powell’s comments, weighing on the wider crypto market.
“We had another largely sideways-ranging week, but this week saw Bitcoin break past the critical $60,000 mark again, and it’s holding firm above this level as of the time of writing,” Rachel Lin, chief executive of decentralized exchange SynFutures, said in emailed comments.
“While these sideways weeks like this might feel uneventful for crypto traders, they are crucial for bitcoin’s long-term health. The last several months have allowed bitcoin to build a solid support base around the $60,000-$70,000 range. A look at bitcoin’s monthly chart reveals that the asset has been consolidating near its 2021 high for over six months. If bitcoin breaks out of this range now, it would likely have a much stronger upward momentum than it would have had if the breakout happened earlier this year.”
Other market watchers have pointed to the looming U.S. presidential election, which as divided the Democratic Party and Republicans over bitcoin and crypto, as a potential “catalyst” for a bitcoin price boom.
“The market movements experienced this week are not notable; it’s just a reflection of summer range trading strategies playing out in the market,” Philippe Bekhazi, the chief executive of crypto exchange XBTO, said in emailed comments.
“The true signifier of a bull market period will be once bitcoin decisively breaks $62,000. And then following that, $72,000 will cement the market into a new trading pattern. The upcoming U.S election may eventually be a catalyst for higher prices, too.”
