Altcoin News by Thebittimes.Com

Bitcoin funding rates are in classic bull market territory, but can BTC price upside sustain as macro volatility triggers line up? Bitcoin (BTC) starts a new week still riding high near $37,000 as macroeconomic data returns to the fore. The largest cryptocurrency continues to circle its highest levels in 18 months, with excitement over a possible exchange-traded fund (ETF) approval in the United States driving sentiment. That is getting increasingly greedy, however, as according to the Crypto Fear & Greed Index, conditions match those seen as BTC price action hit its current all-time highs in late 2021. What could shake up the status quo to produce volatility in the coming days? The odds of an external trigger are more significant this week. A raft of U.S. macro data, including the Consumer Price Index (CPI), has the potential to disrupt any sideways trading activity across risk assets. Multiple officials from the Federal Reserve are also due to speak, while the precarious geopoli...

Farmington State Bank to Wind Down Operations As part of the enforcement action, Farmington State Bank has been asked to suspend its operations immediately.  advertisement This is a joint enforcement action from the Federal Reserve Board and the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions. Hence, Farmington is barred from “making dividends or capital distributions, dissipating cash assets and engaging in certain activities” without seeking the permission of its supervisors. According to the published statement, Farmington which operates under its Moonstone Bank name improperly changed its business plans last year without informing the bank’s supervisor, nor did it receive approval from the appropriate quarters. Instead, the Washington state-based bank adopted a pro-digital assets business plan.  Precisely, Farmington State Bank collaborated with a third party to launch an IT infrastructure that supports the issuance of st...

BTC traders are cautiously optimistic due to Bitcoin traditional assets, but there are still some macro headwinds to be aware of. Bitcoin (BTC) price has finally broken the $30,000 level after the key price zone lasted as a ten months resistance level. BTC price rallied 6.5% on April 10 and the much-awaited price gain ended an agonizing 12-day period of extremely low volatility, which saw the price hovering close to $28,200. Bulls are now confident that the bear market has officially ended, especially considering the fact that BTC price has gained 82% year-to-date. Another interesting note is, Bitcoin's decoupling from traditional markets has been confirmed, after the S&P 500 index presented a mere 0.1% gain on April 10, and WTI oil traded down 1.2%. Bitcoin traders are likely anticipating the Federal Reserve's interest rate policy to reverse sooner than later. Stagflation risk could be behind the decoupling Higher interest rates make fixed-income investments more a...

Bitcoin price is gearing up for a key monthly close that could see it dump its 2022 bear market for good. Bitcoin (BTC) enters the last week of March in uncertain territory as a strong weekly close still keeps $30,000 out of reach. The largest cryptocurrency has sealed seven days of practically flat performance despite some volatility in between as the market seeks fresh direction. Where could it go next? In what was a week of more surprises from the macro economy, BTC/USD spent much time reacting to decisions from the United States Federal Reserve and associated commentary. Next up, however, is a period of relative calm, followed by a key monthly close, which analysis says could see the start of a new bullish trend. Bitcoin is currently up 20% for March so far, meaning that the coming days will decide the strength of the ongoing recovery from multi-year lows. Cointelegraph takes a look at five key topics to bear in mind during the final week of a what has been a volatile month. Count...

Following their most important meeting to date, the Federal Reserve officially raised interest rates by another 25bps . Moreover, the meeting was heralded for its vitality. The Fed was conflicted between continuing to raise rates in their fight against inflation or halting the hikes to encourage financial stability amidst a budding banking crisis. Now, we have our answer. Specifically, the Fed is clearly committed to calming banking concerns in other ways. Interestingly, it has been a calendar year since the Fed first began its interest rate hikes to combat growing inflation. This marked a continuation of the steady increase of interest rates by another quarter point. BREAKING: Federal Reserve raises interest rates by 25bps . — Watcher.Guru (@WatcherGuru) March 22, 2023 FED Unveils Crucial Interest Rate Decision All eyes were on the Federal Reserve today, as they met to decide whether or not to continue to raise interest rates or stand pat. The decision was set to ha...

Ethereum market analysts desperately search for the bottom but ETH price technicals aren't excluding further downside below $700. Ethereum's native token, Ether (ETH), eyes a strong bullish reversal after losing 25% from its November high of $1,675, according to a bottom fractal spotted by independent market analyst Wolf. Can Ethereum price co its March 2020 fractal?   Wolf compares Ethereum's multi-month downtrend between May 2018 and March 2020 with a similar but relatively shorter correction after July 2022. If the move repeats, that means the price of Ether has bottom ed in November 2022, according to the analyst, as shown below. ETH/USD 2019-20 and 2022 price performance comparison. Source: TradingView/Wolf Wolf draws cues from March 2020' s Ethereum price crash triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic — a black swan event. Similarly, ETH price was pushed down in November 2022 due to another black swan — the collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX. But ETH/USD rebo...

The Bitcoin price is rising during the European session, breaching the descending triangle pattern at $20,400. Recalling the Asian session's Bitcoin price prediction, the market was waiting for non-farm payrolls and the unemployment rate in the United States to determine further price action .  A day after the Federal Reserve announced another rate hike, the government released its final jobs report before the midterm elections, showing that the unemployment rate had remained unchanged at 3.7%. Let's take a closer look. US Non-farm Payroll & Unemployment Rate  US Non-farm Payroll:  According to the US  Bureau of Labor Statistics , more than twice as many jobs were added to the US economy in October 2022, with 261,000 new positions created. This is the lowest reading since December 2020, but data nevertheless hint at a robust, if sluggish, labor market as worker shortages continue to bite.  US NFP - Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics ...

A growing number of economists have warned about a severe recession in the U.S. if the Federal Reserve keeps up its fight against inflation. “Each adverse development in the outside world implies the Fed is going to have to do more in order to bring the situation under control,” said one economist. Economists Warn of Deep Recession Resulting From Fed’s Response to Inflation A growing number of economists have warned that the Federal Reserve’s fight against inflation, which remains at the highest level in decades, could lead to a severe recession in the U.S. At the upcoming Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting Wednesday, the U.S. central bank is expected to raise interest rates by another 75 basis points — the fourth 0.75 percentage point increase in a row. However, several economists cautioned that policymakers’ response to inflation could lead to a more severe downturn for the U.S. economy, the Financial Times reported Tuesday. “Each adve...

Join Our Telegram channel to stay up to date on breaking news coverage The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting is scheduled for November 1-2. The market expects the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates for the fourth consecutive time by 75 basis points . The hawkish stance taken by the Fed this year has caused a plunge in crypto prices , and this week’s announcement could also trigger a bearish sentiment. Crypto consolidates as market ahead of FOMC meeting The core inflation readings in the US have remained higher, and the Fed believes that monetary tightening policies will ease these inflation levels. Most market analysts believe this week’s meeting will yield another 75 basis points hike in interest rates . The Fed has aggressively raised interest rates this year to tame inflation. Investors have been shying away from investing in risk assets such as cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin has dropped by nearly two-thirds since creating an all-time high of over ...

Join Our Telegram channel to stay up to date on breaking news coverage Although the 263,000 jobs added by U.S. companies in September were slightly higher than predicted, they nonetheless show a declining labor market As the over expected result provides the Federal Reserve less room to choose for a slower rate rise at the next monetary policy meeting in October, Bitcoin (BTC) dropped by approximately 2% after the report was released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Prices of risky assets like stocks and cryptocurrencies may have been protected from further declines if the Fed had eased policy somewhat. The job data indicates that hiring has slowed down significantly since August, when the United States acquired 315,000 positions; nonetheless, it may still generate alarm for central bankers who are hoping to relieve an extremely tight labor market for rest of the year. According to Paul Craig, portfolio manager at Quilter Investors, it is now “obvious” that we ...