Leading cryptocurrencies gained on Tuesday, as investors increased their risk appetite in anticipation of a 25-basis-point rate cut.
Bitcoin Spikes After DC Meet
Bitcoin topped $117,000 after nearly a month as cryptocurrency executives, including Strategy Inc. MSTR executive chairman Michael Saylor and MARA Holdings Inc. MARA CEO Fred Thiel , joined lawmakers in Washington, D.C. to push for the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve bill.
Ethereum, on the other hand, remained trapped in the range between $4,430 and $4,530, while trade activity dried up during the 24-hour period. XRP rose 1.53% to go past $3
Over $175 million was liquidated from the cryptocurrency market in the last 24 hours, with $107 million in long positions erased.
Bitcoin’s open interest rose 2.54% in the last 24 hours, while funds locked in Ethereum’s unsettled derivatives fell 1.64%.
Interestingly, Binance traders with open BTC positions flipped bearish, with more than 52% betting against the coin, according to the Long/Short ratio.
The market sentiment remained “Neutral,” according to the Crypto Fear & Greed Index.
Top Gainers (24 Hours)
The global cryptocurrency market capitalization stood at $4 trillion, down 0.82% in the last 24 hours.
Stocks Ease Before Fed Decision
Stocks cooled down on Tuesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 125.55 points, or 0.27%, to close at 45,757.90. The S&P 500 dipped 0.5% to finish at 6,615.28, while the tech-focused Nasdaq Composite closed down 0.07% at 22,333.96.
The crucial Federal Open Market Committee meeting got underway, with traders betting on a 96% chance the central bank will cut interest rates by 25 basis points, according to the CME FedWatch tool.
The market will also scrutinize Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s subsequent press conference for more clues on the direction of monetary policy.
Expectations For A Big Surge Should Be ‘Tempered’
On-chain analytics firm Santiment noticed a sharp spike in Bitcoin’s greed sentiment in anticipation of the rate cut decision, with bullish comments making up 64% of the total comments on social media.
“Historically, markets move the opposite direction of retail’s expectations,” Santiment stated, suggesting expectations for a big surge be “tempered” if rate cuts are confirmed.
Widely followed cryptocurrency analyst and trader Michaël van de Poppe highlighted $4,400 as a “crucial” support level for Ethereum.
“If it starts going beneath that zone, then I’m expecting an acceleration and big liquidity flush. That’s the ideal area to buy the dip from, but it might feel slightly scary,” Van De Poppe remarked.
Photo Courtesy: Shutterstock AI
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Unlock RankingsEdge RankingsMomentum90.65Price TrendShortMediumLongOverview$BTCBitcoin – United States dollar$116732.00-0.09%$DOGEDogecoin – United States dollar$0.2682-0.64%$ETHEthereum – United States dollar$4511.710.20%$SOLSolana – United States dollar$236.29-0.28%$XRPRipple – United States dollar$3.04-0.05%MARAMARA Holdings Inc$17.537.94%MSTRStrategy Inc$336.252.58%Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs
