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First Mover Americas: Bitcoin Bulls Eye $70K After Return to $66K
The latest price moves in crypto markets in context for July 17, 2024.
Updated Jul 17, 2024, 12:01 p.m. Published Jul 17, 2024, 12:01 p.m.
This article originally appeared in First Mover, CoinDesk’s daily newsletter, putting the latest moves in crypto markets in context. Subscribe to get it in your inbox every day.
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Bitcoin traders are eyeing a short-term price target of $70,000 as BTC briefly climbed above $66,000 during the Asian day. Bitcoin subsequently retreated to $65,000 during the European morning, still 2.2% higher than 24 hours ago. “The rebound in Bitcoin price shows the market has a more optimistic outlook in the near-term macro environment,” shared Lucy Hu, senior analyst at Metalpha, in a message to CoinDesk. “The market was encouraged by Donald Trump’s vice president pick, which indicates a more crypto-friendly administration and policies.” Bitcoin may also be benefiting from more bullish sentiment as traders expect less selling pressure in the long term as Mt. Gox repayments to creditors have commenced.
Bitcoin ETFs extended their seven-day winning run on Tuesday, recording $422.5 million of inflows, the biggest single-day tally since June 5. The lion's share was enjoyed by BlackRock's IBIT, which amassed over $260 million. The ETFs have collectively drawn in over $1 billion in just the last three days, underscoring the upward swing in confidence in bitcoin's price prospects. The ETFs' seven-day inflow streak coincides with a surge of around 20% in BTC. Along with Donald Trump's improved presidential prospects, it's likely that the supply overhang from sales by German state Saxony is behind us and the crypto market is catching up with the sustained rally in technology stocks on Wall Street.
XRP has jumped over 12% in the last 24 hours, comfortably outperforming its fellow crypto majors. The broader crypto market, as measured by the CoinDesk 20 Index, has risen around 4.2%. XRP's seven-day gains have grown to about 40%, snapping a long run of performing worse than the rest of the digital asset market. "The reversal of sentiment in crypto has sparked a rise on steroids in the once-largest altcoin," Alex Kuptsikevich, FxPro senior market analyst, said. Gains in the token started last week as CME and CF Benchmarks announced the debut of indices and reference rates for XRP. The moves have formed a triangle pattern on long-term price charts, which some popular traders say could favor bullish action in the coming weeks.
Chart of the Day
- The chart shows daily movements in the ratio between ether and bitcoin's dollar-denominated prices since October 2023.
- The ratio is witnessing a volatility squeeze represented by the triangular consolidation ahead of the expected spot ether ETF debut in the U.S. next week.
- A potential breakout would mean ether outperformance in the near term.
- Source: TradingView
- Omkar Godbole
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