(Kitco News) – Cryptos were on the move higher on Monday as excitement for the upcoming halving propelled Bitcoin’s (BTC) price back above $71,000 as the top crypto prepares to undergo its fourth reduction in new BTC emission.
Stocks experienced a volatile day of trading, but little changed in the overall picture as the S&P, Dow, and Nasdaq all finished where they started, recording changes of -0.04%, -0.03%, and 0.03%, respectively.
Following last week’s comments from Fed officials and a rising U.S. 10-year Treasury yield, investors appear reticent to increase their exposure to the market, at least until this Wednesday’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) report, which will provide an update on the state of inflation and give clues to how the Fed will respond moving forward.
Data provided by TradingView shows that Bitcoin rallied from support at $69,400 to hit a daily high near $72,800 during the morning trading session on Monday, then proceeded to pullback to support near $71,500, where bulls look to regroup before pushing higher.
BTC/USD Chart by TradingView
At the time of writing, BTC trades at $71,720, an increase of 3.45% on the 24-hour chart.
Bulls gearing up for another push higher
“Bitcoin's surge past $72,000, a peak not seen since mid-March, signifies bullish momentum as we edge closer to the anticipated reward halving event,” said analysts at Secure Digital Markets. “This uptrend also positively influenced U.S. crypto-related stocks at the week's outset.”
“Post-Friday’s equity market close, BTC witnessed an impressive 8% increase,” they said. “Breaking through the symmetrical triangle pattern signals a robust bullish indicator for the market, although a retraction to around $71,000 remains within the realm of possibility. Accordingly, the support level has been adjusted up to $67,500.”
“In the altcoin sector, we’re observing enticing valuation levels for several coins, including LINK, RNDR, SUI, and STX, among others,” the analysts said. “These coins are making substantial recoveries, presenting an opportune moment to bolster altcoin portfolios in anticipation of Bitcoin’s potential record highs.”
They also highlighted a $203 million inflow into Bitcoin ETFs as another bullish sign, noting that “While Grayscale experienced a rise in outflows reaching $198.9 million, Blackrock's inflows surged to $308.8 million. Notably, $IBIT and $FBTC have consistently attracted cash for 59 consecutive days, positioning them among the top 20 of all time.”
Secure Digital Markets pointed to several headwinds facing the markets, including the latest jobs report, which “underscored the U.S. labor market's robustness, advocating for continued Federal Reserve prudence.”
“With inflation data on the horizon, particularly Wednesday’s consumer price index following February’s slightly higher-than-anticipated 3.2% annual inflation rate, market participants are keenly awaiting insights that could influence Fed policy,” they said. “This anticipation builds amidst discussions, with figures like Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari suggesting that the scenario of no rate cuts this year becomes increasingly plausible should inflation persist at current levels.”
They identified $74,000 as the current resistance level for Bitcoin, while $67,500 is a major support.
According to MN Trading founder Michaël van de Poppe, the early rallies by Bitcoin and gold on Monday suggest that bulls could soon make a run at pushing BTC to a new record high.
There we go.#Gold opening up with a big new upwards candle and #Bitcoin is back to $71,000.
Given the strength on commodities and the current price action of Bitcoin, I suspect we'll see a test of the all-time high coming up. pic.twitter.com/GaCvQK2q4K— Michaël van de Poppe (@CryptoMichNL) April 8, 2024
Altcoins in an uptrend
Altcoins benefited from Bitcoin’s move higher, with only 18 tokens in the top 200 recoding losses in trading on Monday.
Daily cryptocurrency market performance. Source: Coin360
Neo (NEO) led the gainers with an increase of 34.35%, while SafePal (SFP) climbed 20%, and Nervos Network (CKB) gained 18.9%. Bicomomy was the biggest loser, falling 16.2%, followed by a loss of 8.9% for cat in a dogs world (MEW), and a decline of 5.2% for Decred (DCR).
The overall cryptocurrency market cap now stands at $2.69 trillion, and Bitcoin’s dominance rate is 52.4%.
