Bitcoin (BTC) starts a new week in an unmistakably bullish position as it passes $28,000.
Crypto markets continue to climb on the back of the banking crisis, which still rages in the United States and abroad — where will they go next?
After a week of chaos for macro markets and solid gains as a result, Bitcoin and altcoins are circling levels, which some have not seen for nine months.
The 2022 bear market is feeling like an increasingly distant memory as old resistance levels tumble and bulls attempt to cement newly-reclaimed support.
This week, as last, there are all sorts of potential hurdles to overcome — the Federal Reserve will decide on its next interest rate changes and new macroeconomic data will drop.
Markets will likely stay volatile as a result, and any further unexpected events from the banking sector will only add to the instability.
At the same time, Bitcoin’s own ecosystem is set to become stronger than ever as network fundamentals launch to fresh all-time highs.
Cointelegraph takes a look at five of the key phenomena to keep an eye on when it comes to BTC price action in the coming week.
Fed rate hike cycle in doubt
The macro event of the week is undeniably the March 22 Fed decision on interest rate hikes — or lack of them.
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) faces a stark challenge to its current quantitative tightening (QT) policy in place for the past eighteen months.
The unfolding banking crisis has put into doubt the Fed’s ability to keep raising interest rates, a policy which commentators argue was the death knell for struggling regional banks.
The Fed is nonetheless caught between a rock and a hard place. Raising rates would keep inflation in check but further punish the economy, possibly unleashing a new wave of bank failures.
“Next week’s FOMC is gearing up to be one of the most interesting ones in a while, with no one really agreeing on what’s gonna happen,” engineer and trader Tree of Alpha summarized.
“Odds at leaning towards 25bps, but it’s a wildcard. Planning on longing <=0bps and shorting >=50 bps as the safe play.”
According to CME Group’s FedWatch Tool, consensus as of March 20 favored the Fed hiking by 25 basis points, rather than pausing hikes altogether. The week prior, Goldman Sachs had predicted that rates would plateau, while Nomura even forecast a rate cut.
“This week, the long anticipated March Fed interest rate decision comes out. Currently,…
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