Market highly volatile amid mixed signals from macro data- QHN

The cryptocurrency market remained highly volatile in the past week. Bitcoin, the largest crypto token by market cap, rose to a 13-month high of 31.500 before falling to $29,900 during the week. In the past one week, the token was down 2.61 per cent, according to data from CoinMarketCap.

“Crypto markets traded in a tight range with a slight downward bias, as macro-economic data signals upcoming headwinds,” said Parth Chaturvedi, investments lead at CoinSwitch Ventures. “The ADP report last week in the US confirmed the heated economy and the need for further rate hikes by the Fed in their upcoming FOMC meetings, sending ‘risk-on assets’ including crypto lower in prices.”

In the last few weeks, the market was witnessing a bull run after the news emerged of several big entities showing their interest in Bitcoin. In an interview last week, asset manager Blackrock’s chief executive officer (CEO) Larry Fink called Bitcoin as digital gold and a “revolutionary” upgrade for financial services.

However, the US Fed’s minutes showed that the bank is expecting a moderate recession this year. As a protection, the benchmark interest rates may be kept unchanged for a while.

“The Fed’s focus on fighting inflation is likely to continue to weigh on cryptos in the near term,” crypto exchange CoinDCX’s research team told Business Standard.

According to crypto exchange WazirX, in the coming months, institutional investors might continue to enter the crypto industry, taking the market sentiment to new heights.

“This might have a chance to improve the spot trading volumes on exchanges that have taken a hit as futures trading volumes continue to grow,” its spokesperson said.

According to Edul Patel, co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Mudrex, “Currently, the immediate support level is around $29,850, with resistance expected near the $30,280 level.”