Bitcoin marginally higher this week, but still below $30K
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Bitcoin (BTC-USD), which is struggling to break past $30K, stayed rangebound in a week that saw the Federal Reserve signal a pause in its tightening policy and a jobs report that showed a stubbornly tight labor market.
The top cryptocurrency is on track for a weekly gain of close to 1%, but ether (ETH-USD) is set to end the week 5.3% higher.
The Fed raised its benchmark lending rate by 25 basis points, as expected, and softened its stance slightly to signal that the central bank isn't necessarily expecting further firming. However, the latest jobs report could pressure the Fed to consider an additional rate hike, or at least maintain elevated rates for longer.
These events had limited impact on bitcoin (BTC-USD), which continued to trade in the $27.68K-$29.95K range.
"Bitcoin (BTC-USD) prices have been trading in a narrowing triangle about to be broken to the upside," said Markus Thielen , head of research at Matrixport. "While trading volume has declined recently, the path higher sees only limited resistance. Transactions on the BTC network has reached new all-time highs."
Thielen noted that the number of active addresses on the BTC network is approaching 1M.
The overall crypto market cap totaled $1.22T, up 2.7% over Thursday, according to CoinMarketCap.
Even as regulatory uncertainty continues, New York Attorney General Letitia James has proposed a new bill that would boost New York's financial watchdog's authority in policing the crypto industry. The bill would mandate independent public audits of crypto exchanges, among other requirements.
In other news, Coinbase (COIN) soared after its Q1 results beat expectations. But the exchange guided for a sequential slump in Q2 subscription and services revenue due to the decline in USD Coin's (USDC-USD) market cap since Q1.
Coinbase (COIN) also launched an international crypto derivatives exchange in Bermuda as it continues to expand outside the U.S. amid regulatory heat. Needham believes this could be a $30M-$200M a year revenue opportunity.
Notable News
- MicroStrategy (MSTR) Q1 results beat estimates as the company's crypto impairment losses eased markedly.
- BNP Paribas, in partnership with the Bank of China, is promoting the use of the country's CBDC by linking digital yuan wallets to bank accounts.
Bitcoin, Ether Prices
- When it comes to bitcoin (BTC-USD), SA contributor and Investing Group leader Mike Fay believes investors should be cautious rather than aggressive at this point. "I believe in the shorter term, bulls who want to aggressively scale a position rather than dollar cost average over time can probably be patient and wait for a better price."
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