Hawkish Fed's Powell Fails to Dent BTC Price
Bitcoin (BTC) surpassed the $29,500 mark on October 20 following a series of events that boosted its price trajectory. Meanwhile, XRP price jumped above $0.50 in response to a significant legal win for Ripple.
Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed that BTC/USD edged closer to its two-month highs at the beginning of the week. The largest cryptocurrency seemed to gain momentum from the events surrounding a speech by Jerome Powell, Chair of the United States Federal Reserve, the previous day.
Amid a U.S. bond rout, Powell was under pressure to deliver appropriate wording. However, his speech, which was briefly interrupted by protesters, revealed a highly conservative outlook.
Powell discussed the restrictive stance of policy, which puts downward pressure on economic activity and inflation. He also acknowledged the potential problems of hiking rates too far and emphasized the need for caution.
Data from CME Group’s FedWatch Tool showed a shift in market expectations for future rate decisions. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is now unanimously expected to hold rates at their current levels during its next meeting on November 1.
Following Powell's speech, news broke that U.S. regulators had dropped criminal charges against executives of Blockchain firm Ripple. As a result, XRP price immediately responded with a 6% increase in 24 hours.
Trader Suggests Bitcoin "Impulse" is Here
Against the backdrop of growing anticipation for the approval of a U.S. Bitcoin spot price exchange-traded fund (ETF), Bitcoin gained momentum overnight.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin's price reached a high of $29,689, coming just $200 shy of the top of a snap volatility wick witnessed on October 17.
Popular trader Jelle, in an analysis of the day, wrote, "Bitcoin filling the wick, slowly but surely. Let's go for that $30k tap." Jelle had previously suggested that Bitcoin appeared "eager to fill" the October 17 wick.
Another trader, CrypNuevo, noted that the day was expected to be interesting for trading, pointing out that Bitcoin had reached $29,400, a level where many liquidations had occurred.
CrypNuevo uploaded liquidation data from the past days, which indicated that long positions outnumbered shorts four to one. As a result, he suggested that Bitcoin might see a retracement during the U.S. trading session.
Disclaimer: This article does not provide investment advice or recommendations. As with any investment or trading move, there is risk involved, and readers should conduct their own research before making a decision.
