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Bitcoin surged to $77,400, rising alongside other risk assets after major US tech companies' earnings reports boosted market sentiment. The gains followed Apple's earnings report, which, along with those of Google's parent Alphabet, Microsoft, Meta, and Amazon, showed double-digit revenue growth. These reports lifted risk assets as renewed confidence in AI growth drew investors back to equities and crypto, although the current bounce seems to reflect relief rather than the start of a new rally. According to crypto exchange Mercado Bitcoin, the market faces 'short-term pressure with mixed structural factors,' including lower hopes for rate cuts, ETF outflows, and increased geopolitical risk.
Despite oil price surges and over $400 million in outflows from spot bitcoin ETFs, crypto prices held steady as April ended. Oil prices, influenced by the Iran conflict and disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, could fuel inflation, making central banks less likely to cut rates. This could negatively impact crypto and other risk assets by making cash and bonds more appealing.
The Federal Reserve maintained rates at 3.50% to 3.75%, with four dissenting voices, the most since 1992. Mercado Bitcoin noted that the decision and lack of clear rate-cut signals led to a repricing of policy expectations. 'In the short term, the market is expected to remain volatile, reacting strongly to economic data,' said Rony Szuster, the company's head of research.
'In the medium term, the structure depends on the stabilization of institutional flows and the path of global monetary policy.' With Jerome Powell's term as Fed chair ending on May 15 and Kevin Warsh expected to lead the June FOMC meeting, potential volatility looms due to Warsh's preference for tighter monetary policy. The key test for bitcoin remains at $80,000; breaking this level could attract new buyers, while a failed attempt may trigger selling if leveraged long positions are unwound.
For more analysis on today's altcoin and derivatives activity, see Crypto Markets Today, and for a list of upcoming events, see CoinDesk's Crypto Week Ahead. Currently trending: Today's signal indicates that the weekly bitcoin price is testing resistance at $80,000, with the RSI showing early signs of a bullish divergence, though this remains unconfirmed on a weekly close. Failure to break above this level could keep the price range-bound between the 200-day exponential moving average of about $68,000 and $80,000.