Bitcoin Edges Higher to $27.7K; AVAX, XRP Jump as Crypto Market Settles

Bitcoin (BTC) edged higher Wednesday, gaining 1.3% over the past 24 hours as headwinds in traditional markets alleviated and crypto markets calmed after Monday’s sharp rally.

The largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization was changing hands at around $27,700 during U.S. afternoon hours. Earlier this week, BTC briefly rose above $28,000 then pared some of its gains.

Crypto services provider Matrixport’s analysts noted Wednesday that BTC broke out from its downtrend starting in the summer and turned the $27,000 level into support.

The report said BTC’s price could be headed toward $30,000. However, the initial surge on Monday lacked a significant follow-through, as BTC trading volume dropped to $11 billion from $19 billion.

Enigma Securities, an institutional digital asset liquidity and advisory firm, forecasted Wednesday in a report that low volatility on crypto markets will prevail for the next months.

Markets will likely consolidate and chop sideways in October, extending the window for accumulation for long-term investors, Vetle Lunde, senior analyst at K33 Research, noted in a market report.

The broader crypto market-proxy CoinDesk Market Index inched 0.8% higher.

Traditional markets calmed after a turbulent Tuesday session as fresh jobs data pointed to a cooling U.S. labor market.

The ADP reported earlier today that the U.S. economy added 89,000 jobs in September, significantly less than the 153,000 analysts expected and August’s 180,000. Kathy Jones, chief fixed income strategist at Charles Schwab, noted in an X (formerly Twitter) post that this was the smallest rise in private sector jobs since 2020.

The S&P 500 index closed the day 0.8% higher, while the tech-heavy NASDAQ 100 index posted a 1.45% gain.

Ether (ETH) price underperformed and slid 0.7% as market participants digested the disappointing first days of the first futures-based exchange-traded funds in the U.S. K33 Research advised investors to rotate into BTC, citing the lack of medium-term catalysts for ETH.

Solana’s native token SOL also pared its gains from earlier this week, slumping 2.3% in the past 24 hours. The token is still up over 20% in a week.

Layer 1 blockchain Avalanche’s AVAX was a top performer among major cryptocurrencies, surging 7%. XRP also rallied over 3% earlier in the day as Ripple’s Asian arm obtained a license in Singapore and a favorable court ruling.