While BTC continues to trickle to multi-month price highs, the Fed appears to be volatile as the FOMC coincides with the end of Bitcoin’s monthly candle.
Bitcoin
BTC
Ticker below
$23,810
It starts the major week with the familiar cocktail of rallying prices combined with fears of a bear market returning.
After stamping its highest weekly close in nearly six months, BTC/USD is up 40% year-to-date, just 48 hours away from a monthly close — can the gains last?
Against all odds, Bitcoin grew faster than expected this month, making January 2023 the best in a decade.
Throughout, concerns have led to calls for an impending slowdown and even a drop in the price of the new macro BTC as the market remains distrustful.
That brutal change has yet to materialize and the coming days could still be a pivotal period for Bitcoin’s long-term trends.
There is never a shortage of catalysts. The US Federal Reserve will decide its next rate hike this week, with Fed Chairman Jerome Powell delivering long-awaited comments on the economy and policy.
The European Central Bank (ECB) will make a similar decision a day later.
Add to that the psychological pressure of a monthly shutdown, and it’s easy to see how next week could be the most volatile in bitcoin’s recent history.
Buckle up as Cointelegraph takes a look at five key issues when it comes to BTC price action.
Bitcoin Price $24K See With FOMC Volatility Forecast |
Bitcoin is spiking ever more in a shorter timeframe and ignoring the nasir and smaller alike.
This weekend in January proved to be no different than any other, with BTC/USD rising to $23,950 overnight as of January 30 — a new five-and-a-half-month high
The weekly close achieved a similar feat, with bitcoin failing to tackle the $24,000 mark for ultimate prosperity.
BTC/USD 1-Week Candlestick Chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingView
At the time of writing, $23,700 had become the focal point, with data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showing that the US dollar was trading higher.
At current prices, Bitcoin is up a striking 43.1% in January — the best January since 2013 — Bitcoin’s first well-known bull market year.
BTC/USD monthly return chart (screenshot). Source: Coinglass
Market analysts are eager to see what will happen around the Fed’s decision to raise rates The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) tacked on an immediate change to February.
“Maybe with a little help from FOMC volatility? Not a prediction, but definitely a trading setup that I would be very interested in,” popular trader Crypto Chase commented on the chart for BTC/USD predicting further bounce retracement
BTC/USD Annotated Chart. Source: Crypto Chase/ Twitter
That roadmap took bitcoin above $25,000, a key goal for the traders themselves — who also remain wary of the mass surrender phenomenon that extinguished January’s extraordinary performance.
This includes Crypto Tony, who notes that Bitcoin’s 200-week exponential moving average (EMA) is close to $25,000.
“The 200 Weekly EMA sits just above us at 25,000 which as you know is our target in BTC / Bitcoin,” he told Twitter followers on January 29th.
“The 200 EMA and range high right now is huge for a bull swimming in support, but we haven’t done it yet and people are already happy. Think about that.”
Still, with that, the chart was laying out a possible path to $15,000.
As Cointelegraph reported over the weekend, the il capo of crypto, traders now known for their skepticism about recovery, is small BTC.
Continuing, series analysis resource material indicators defined $24,000 as a critical area to flip to support for the bulls along with the 50-day and 200-day simple moving averages
“If bulls break $24k, the upside liquidity is expected to be exploited in the range of technical resistance ahead of the Feb. 1 Fed EOY terminal rate launch. Whatever the JPO says will drive the market,” he said as part of Binance order book bid comments read this weekend.
Material indicators referenced Powell’s upcoming words at the FOMC, also noting that bid liquidity has increased more, pushing spot prices closer to that key area
BTC/USD Order Book Chart (Binance). Source: Content Pointer/ Twitter
Powell is set on raising macro Fed rates
Next week will be dominated by Federal Reserve interest rate hikes and Powell’s accompanying comments.
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The FOMC meets on February 1 in a familiar but still nerve-wracking event for bitcoin traders.
This time, the results may be somewhat of a surprise, with expectations almost unanimously forecasting a 25 basis point increase. However, as around the unveiling
