Bitcoin and Ethereum have bounced back after yesterday’s brief drop created alarm among investors and traders. Bitcoin plunged to its lowest level, of $18,276, in three months on Monday. The top cryptocurrency has managed to get back to the $19,000 level.
The price crash is attributed to US President Joe Biden’s interview on CBS 60 Minutes which raised concerns about global warfare. Responding to whether the US forces would defend Taiwan in an event of a China-led invasion, he replied in the affirmative in case of an unprecedented attack. Analysts say China’s central bank lowering the borrowing cost of 14-day reverse repurchase agreements to 2.15% from 2.25% would have also impacted BTC’s price. It should be noted that the monetary authority is showing signs of weakness in the current market conditions by pumping more money to spark the economy amid inflationary pressure. Moreover, tomorrow’s US Federal Reserve Meeting is expected to hike interest rates by 0.75% as central bankers scramble to ease the inflationary pressure. As such, yields on the 5-year Treasury notes soared to 3.70% – the highest level since November 2007.
At the time of writing this article, Bitcoin was trading at $19,318. It has gained 2.64% of its value in the last 24 hours, as per data from CoinMarketCap. Ethereum is up by 4.15%, changing hands at $1,354. Ether is following in Bitcoin’s footsteps as it also fell on higher volume only to bounce back. Since the historic Merge last week, Ether has fallen about 17%.
Bitcoin and Ether seem to be tied to macroeconomic data and the overall appetite for risk. Sadie Raney, co-founder and head of operations at Strix Leviathan, said regulatory pressure, rising base rates, and inflation are pressing heavily on riskier asset classes, especially crypto. It’s forcing liquidations, reducing the capital available for investment, and increasing concerns over undefined regulatory controls. Raney believes these forces may suppress the overall crypto complex until the financial system stabilizes and a regulatory framework becomes clearer.
