A sharp drop in the dollar, following weaker-than-expected nonfarm payrolls data, was the biggest benefactor of Bitcoin over the weekend. This helped the token recover from bear market territory after it sank to about $59,000 last week, about 22% below a record high hit in March.
Bitcoin rose 1.7% in the past 24 hours to $64,247.2 by 01:31 ET (05:35 GMT).
Markets were now seen pricing an increased chance of a 25 basis point cut by the Federal Reserve in September. Such a scenario bodes well for cryptocurrencies, given that they usually thrive in a low-rate, high-liquidity environment.
A cooling labor market gives the Fed more impetus to cut interest rates. But Friday’s reading also comes after five straight months of stronger-than-expected payrolls readings, while inflation- which is a key factor for the Fed- remains comfortably above the central bank’s 2% annual target.
Near-term gains in Bitcoin were held back by anticipation of more cues on U.S. rates, specifically from a string of Fed officials set to speak in the coming days.
FOMC members Thomas Barkin and John Williams are set to speak later on Monday, followed by Neel Kashkari on Tuesday.
But despite its recovery over the weekend, Bitcoin remained squarely within a trading range seen through most of March and April. The world’s largest cryptocurrency has floundered between $60,000 and $70,000 amid waning hype over the crypto market.
Capital flows into Bitcoin investment products, specifically the spot exchange-traded funds approved earlier this year, were seen slowing substantially over the past month. Bitcoin ETFs saw capital outflows for the past three weeks.
Gains in Bitcoin spilled over into other major cryptocurrencies, although these were also seen slowing on Monday.
World no.2 crypto Ethereum rose 2.7% to $3,166.41. XRP added 1.4%, while Solana rose 2.8%.
But Bitcoin remained the sole driver of crypto valuations, with the token accounting for nearly 55% of overall crypto valuation.
To read the full article, Click Here