(Kitco News) – It was a volatile end to the week for the cryptocurrency market as the release of the latest Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) index – the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge – fell in line with expectations, leaving investors guessing about what comes next regarding interest rates.
While analysts had prepared for what could transpire if the metric came in hotter or cooler than expected, the fact that it aligned with Wall Street’s prediction left investors to contemplate the recent remarks from Fed officials, who indicated that interest rates would stay elevated for longer as the central bank struggles to achieve its 2% inflation target.
The result was a whipsaw across financial markets, with prices climbing higher initially before plunging into the red for most of the trading day.
For stocks, a late afternoon spike in buying helped reverse the downtrend and led to a positive close of 0.80% and 1.51% for the S&P and Dow, respectively, while the Nasdaq finished flat.
Data provided by TradingView shows that Bitcoin (BTC) spiked to a high just above $69,000 in the morning before dipping to a low of $66,595, and has since climbed back to support at $67,600.
BTC/USD Chart by TradingView
At the time of writing, BTC trades at $66,592, a decrease of 1.28% on the 24-hour chart.
Chop season continues
While many newer crypto holders have lamented the sideways price action for Bitcoin over the past couple of months, those with more experience in the market know it’s par for the course in bull market cycles, and what is really required from traders is patience.
#Bitcoin After a nice bounce back to the range highs, $BTC has now found itself in another consolidation phase between $67K-$72K.
Green = Support.
Red = Resistance.
Patience is key ? pic.twitter.com/ieRg44wV36— Daan Crypto Trades (@DaanCrypto) May 30, 2024
“It's clear $BTC chop [season] is upon us,” tweeted market analyst ShardiB2. “I think we are all tired of trying to catch these breakouts only to watch them fail on us. A few more months of this probably... Maybe best to just buy and hold and enjoy life for a few months while not getting chopped up.”
CryptoQuant founder Ki Young Ju noted that the recent price action has the “Same vibe on #Bitcoin as mid-2020.”
“Back then, $BTC hovered around $10k for 6 months with high on-chain activity, later revealed as OTC deals,” he said. “Now, despite low price volatility, on-chain activity remains high, with $1B added daily to new whale wallets, likely custody.”
MN Trading founder Michaël van de Poppe warned that a failure to break above $70,000 could see Bitcoin revisit $60,000 in the coming months.
Relatively boring week on the markets for #Bitcoin as it continues to consolidate between the crucial areas.
If $70K isn't going to break, then I'm expecting $60K as a likely case in the upcoming months. pic.twitter.com/txzX0dwqjN— Michaël van de Poppe (@CryptoMichNL) May 31, 2024
But Captain Faibik said the “Ascending triangle upside Breakout is already confirmed,” and a successful retest of support could kick off the 2024-2025 bull market.
$BTC Monthly Close today.. ⌛️
Ascending triangle upside Breakout is already confirmed, and bulls are retesting the key S/R as Support.
A Successful Retest Could start the Bitcoin Bullrun 2024-25. ?#Crypto #Bitcoin #BTC pic.twitter.com/uiuY5MpC0g— Captain Faibik (@CryptoFaibik) May 31, 2024
Mixed close to the week for altcoins
The week ended mixed for altcoins, with roughly one-third of the tokens in the top 200 recording gains while the reminder trended lower.
Daily cryptocurrency market performance. Source: Coin360
ConstitutionDAO (PEOPLE) closed the week on a strong note with a gain of 12.5%, followed by an increase of 10.1% for Highstreet (HIGH), and a gain of 8.35% for Beam (BEAM). Enjin Coin (ENJ) was the biggest loser, falling 10.3%, while Notcoin (NOT) lost 7.3%, and Akash Network (AKT) declined by 6.8%.
The overall cryptocurrency market cap now stands at $2.53 trillion, and Bitcoin’s dominance rate is 52.8%.
