Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) have mostly traded sideways over the weekend, staying above support levels in the absence of a catalyst that could impact their prices. While Bitcoin’s price showed signs of upward momentum at the start of the new week, the market expects that critical interest rate decisions from the UK and the US could increase volatility and potentially trigger a downturn.
Crypto Market Rises Led by Bitcoin
According to CoinMarketCap data, the crypto market turned green at the beginning of the week, with a total market cap increase of 0.74% to reach $1.07 trillion. This upward trend resulted in $74.36 million in liquidations in crypto futures. The open interest, or the number of futures contracts, also increased by over 10% to reach a value of $12.65 billion.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading above $27,000, specifically at $27,153. Furthermore, the price of the largest altcoin, Ethereum, has risen by 1.29% in the past 24 hours and is currently trading at $1,652.
The movement in BTC and ETH prices has also brought momentum to the altcoin market as expected. Leading altcoins such as Chainlink (LINK) saw an increase of nearly 8% in the past 24 hours, trading at $6.72, while Stacks (STX) experienced a value increase of almost 6% to trade at $0.4894.
Markets Await Interest Rate Decision from the UK and the US
Although the trend in the crypto market appears positive, market participants are eagerly awaiting the interest rate decision from the UK and the US. Simon Peters, a market analyst at eToro, stated, “The release of important data from the UK and the US is expected to put pressure on the markets. With both central banks announcing new interest rate decisions this weekend, the markets could experience heightened volatility in the next few days.”
Peters also added, “Although inflation is decreasing in both economies, there are indications that this decline may not be fully felt yet. Like other risky assets, cryptocurrencies are sensitive to interest rate expectations. Therefore, any hardening in the tone could lead to a downturn in the markets.”
