Bitcoin
edged higher Tuesday but remained vulnerable after more than a week of regulatory pressures. A key U.S. inflation report in the day ahead lies as the next likely catalyst for cryptos.
The price of Bitcoin has risen less than 1% over the past 24 hours to near $26,200, remaining in the range between $26,000 and $27,000 that has dominated for much of the period since the largest digital asset hit a 10-month high above $30,000 in April. Bitcoin has tumbled to as low as $25,500 over the past week, but has since steadied in the face of U.S. regulatory fears, following the Securities and Exchange Commission charging exchanges Binance and
Coinbase Global
(ticker: COIN) with violating a slew of U.S. laws.
“The cryptoverse is stuck in limbo as regulatory fears run wild,” said Edward Moya, an analyst at broker Oanda. “Ahead of a key CPI report and Fed decision, Bitcoin has key support at the $25,400 region.”
Indeed, Bitcoin is poised to react to macroeconomic catalysts in the next two days, as is the stock market, with the
Dow Jones Industrial Average
and
S&P 500
similarly set to move on inflation data Tuesday and a decision on interest rates from the Federal Reserve on Wednesday.
The Fed has raised rates dramatically since March 2022 to fight inflation, which has been a driving force behind declines in digital assets. Much of Bitcoin’s big rally this year—a rise of some two-thirds—has come amid expectations that rate-rises will soon end and eventually reverse. Investors are bracing for the Fed to hit the pause button on rates on Wednesday, but the release of the U.S. consumer-price index (CPI) for May—a critical indicator of inflation—has the potential to disrupt expectations.
With these macro catalysts looming, Bitcoin also remains vulnerable from a technical perspective, near key levels that could accelerate a selloff.
“Bitcoin continues to grind sideways-to-lower but remains above key support near $25,200,” said Katie Stockton, managing partner at technical research firm Fairlead Strategies. “A breakdown below $25,200 would turn our attention to nearby secondary support from the 200-day moving average, near $23,600. Long-term momentum has yet to recover meaningfully.”
Beyond Bitcoin,
Ether
—the second-largest crypto—was flat at $1,750. Smaller cryptos or altcoins were more mixed, with
Cardano
down 1% and
Polygon
up 1%. Memecoins were buoyant, with
Dogecoin
and
Shiba Inu
gaining 1% each.
Write to Jack Denton at [email protected]
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