Share this article
Bitcoin, Ether Settle Into a Range as Indicators Point Neutral
Bitcoin and ether’s rapid price acceleration to start 2023 has leveled off as investors worry about potential crypto regulation, inflation and the economy.
Updated Mar 1, 2023, 10:43 p.m. Published Mar 1, 2023, 10:31 p.m.
Make us preferred on Google
Bitcoin and ether appear poised to continue trading in their current narrow ranges as many indicators flash neutral.
The two largest cryptocurrencies by market cap have seen volatilities lessen over the past seven days while momentum for both has fallen during the past 14 days.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
The breather for both assets is unsurprising given their 43% and 38% year-to-date price increases. Those gains seemed outsized given the brewing uncertainties about crypto regulation, inflation and the economy.
BTC’s sharp rise to start the year followed a three-month period of flat trading activity.
Some crypto market observers may positively view the lack of profit taking following such a move higher. Currently, BTC and ETH are trading tightly to their 20-day moving averages, a price level that has demonstrated significant agreement between buyers and sellers in the past.
The Relative Strength Index (RSI), often used as a proxy to measure momentum, has fallen 20% since Feb. 15 to 55 for BTC. Ether’s RSI fell 12.5% to 54 over the same time period.
RSI is an indicator that ranges between 0-100, with a reading of 30 signaling that an asset may be oversold, and a reading over 70 indicating that it may be overbought. RSI readings near 50 indicate neither, and suggest that markets see both assets as fairly priced.
The cocktail of decreasing volatility, neutral momentum and significant price agreement could result in BTC and ETH trading in a relatively flat range, in lieu of a new catalyst.
Meanwhile, the Fear and Greed index for bitcoin sits exactly at a perfectly neutral 50 on a scale of 0-100.
On-chain analytics are painting a similar picture. Bitcoin’s Network Value to Transactions (NVT) ratio is currently 43.4, essentially identical to its six-month NVT ratio of 43.26. ETH’s NVT ratio is 108, an 6% premium to its six-month average of 101.75.
The NVT ratio is a valuation metric used in crypto markets and can be likened to the Price to Earnings (P/E) ratio in traditional finance. When an asset’s NVT falls below average, it indicates the asset is undervalued. Higher NVT levels indicate the opposite.
All told, crypto markets appear to be in a holding pattern, and a significant bullish catalyst is not currently appearing on the horizon. Crypto holders have been reluctant to take profits following the move higher. The result is an asset that has plateaued while looking for the next directional signal.
More For You
Pudgy Penguins is building a multi-vertical consumer IP platform — combining phygital products, games, NFTs and PENGU to monetize culture at scale.
What to know:
Pudgy Penguins is emerging as one of the strongest NFT-native brands of this cycle, shifting from speculative “digital luxury goods” into a multi-vertical consumer IP platform. Its strategy is to acquire users through mainstream channels first; toys, retail partnerships and viral media, then onboard them into Web3 through games, NFTs and the PENGU token.
The ecosystem now spans phygital products (> $13M retail sales and >1M units sold), games and experiences (Pudgy Party surpassed 500k downloads in two weeks), and a widely distributed token (airdropped to 6M+ wallets). While the market is currently pricing Pudgy at a premium relative to traditional IP peers, sustained success depends on execution across retail expansion, gaming adoption and deeper token utility.
More For You
Fidelity Investments starts its own stablecoin in a massive bet that future of banking is on blockchain
The FIDD token will run on Ethereum, serve institutional and retail users, and comply with the new GENIUS Act’s reserve rules.
What to know:
- Fidelity Investments is launching its first stablecoin, the Fidelity Digital Dollar (FIDD), based on the Ethereum network.
- FIDD will be backed by reserves of cash, cash equivalents, and short-term U.S. Treasuries managed by Fidelity, in line with the new federal GENIUS Act's standards for payment stablecoins.
- The stablecoin targets use cases such as 24/7 institutional settlement and onchain retail payments, putting Fidelity in direct competition with dominant issuers like Circle’s USDC and Tether’s USDT while laying groundwork for future onchain financial products.
Top Stories
