Bitcoin
Bitcoin (BTC) price reaches US$66 thousand after moderate inflation data; Solana (SOL), NEAR lead crypto rally
Crypto markets rose on Wednesday weaker than expected US inflation data shook digital assets out of their stupor.
Bitcoin (BTC) It surpassed $66,000 for the first time since April 24 and recently rose more than 7% in the last 24 hours. Ether (ETH) it changed hands near $3,000 but underperformed, with a 4% advance during the same period.
Solana (SUN) it’s near (CLOSE) led gains among major cryptocurrencies with jumps of 8% and 12%, respectively, and the broader market benchmark CoinDesk 20 Index (CD20) rose 6%.
The rebound came as US Consumer Price Index (CPI) numbers for April fell from March, along with a slightly slow retail sales report. The data came as a relief to investors who fear that reaccelerating inflation and a buoyant economy could force the Federal Reserve to backtrack on its conciliatory pivot and even consider interest rate hikes.
“Investors consider this an optimistic regime change as it marks the first drop in CPI inflation in the last three months,” Bitfinex analysts said in a market update. This, coupled with the Federal Reserve’s prior announcement of its intention to reduce the depletion of the central bank’s balance sheet, “is seen as a favorable impression for risk assets,” Bitfinex added.
Looking at traditional markets, US stocks also rose during the day, with the S&P 500 index gaining more than 1% and reaching a new all-time high, highlighting the return of risk appetite.
Today’s bitcoin rally also marked the break from a downtrend that had capped prices in recent weeks, analysts at Swissblock said in a Telegram update.
“BTC [is] finally making a bigger move,” Swissblock said. “We are waiting for the trigger to launch a larger structure since the March high. Today we achieved this”, referring to the CPI and retail sales figures.
The analytics firm said the breakout paves the way for BTC to rise first to $69,000 and later potentially to new all-time highs targeting the $84,000 price level. During the next leg, “altcoins will follow strongly,” the report added.