In another day of restrained activity in the cryptocurrency market, Bitcoin (BTC) once again feigned a heady boost on Friday before tranquilly settling below the $30,000 mark. Meanwhile, the second-largest cryptocurrency, Ether (ETH), seems unbothered by the lackadaisical market, maintaining its position in the vicinity of its weekly lows, below $1,900 threshold.
Alternative cryptocurrencies including SOL and XRP showed their resilience as they endeavored to regain some of their previously suffered losses. However, MKR, the governance token of the decentralized finance lender MakerDAO, defied the broader market trend with double-digit gains, fueled by the kickoff of a token buyback program. On the contrary, the micro-cap token CNC took a strong hit, falling by as much as 75% following a significant exploit of Conic Finance.
Amidst this atmosphere of cool trading, the CoinDesk Market Index marked a slight increase of 0.3% in the past 24 hours. Looking ahead, financial experts are keeping a close watch on potential Federal Reserve interest rate hikes and the expiration of bitcoin options slated for next week.
Interestingly, the past week witnessed bubbling hopes for a potential altcoin season following a positive verdict in the Ripple-SEC case. Despite this, both BTC and ETH failed to smash their resistance levels, sinking to their weekly range lows and casting a shadow on the market.
Despite this downturn, Rachel Lin, CEO and co-founder of the decentralized derivatives exchange SynFutures, maintains an optimistic outlook. Lin predicts the possibility of a BTC bounce up to $34,000, provided it successfully breaches the $31,500 mark.
Adding to the conversation, Will Peck, head of digital assets for WisdomTree, stated that it’s “tricky” to foresee a near-term bitcoin price. He further discussed the uncertain impact of the SEC approving a spot bitcoin ETF from financial giants who submitted applications the previous month. Given an underlying query about the extent of institutional capital potential, the crypto-market sits on a fulcrum of unpredictability.
Future market trends might not draw significant impact from a U.S. central bank’s 25 basis points rate or the options expiry at month-end. As per Lawrence Lewitinn, head of content at The Tie, Bitcoin might witness a period of flat prices unless stirred by an unexpected event or announcement. With the current dynamics, the end of the week might see Bitcoin hovering around the $30,000 mark, reflecting a somewhat slower week.
Source: Coindesk
