Bitcoin settles at $21K ahead of FOMC

Bitcoin is clinging to the $21,000, having changed little in the past 24 hours, while Ethereum is adding 1.7% overnight to $1450. Prices of the top altcoins range from -0.6% (Cardano) to +4.2% (BNB).

The total capitalisation of the crypto market, according to CoinMarketCap, rose 0.85% to $978bn overnight.

Bitcoin came under increased pressure on Tuesday, but the sell-off stalled during the New York trading session as it was supported by buying on declines below $21K.

Markets await the US Federal Reserve’s rate decision to be announced on Wednesday and are set to see the Fed’s another 75 points hike, but futures are pricing a 20% chance of a 100-points hike. Some speculators are rushing to bet that we will see a relaxation rally when the most pessimistic expectations do not come true.

According to CoinShares, capital inflows into crypto funds last week amounted to $30M, of which $19M for BTC. At the same time, investments in funds, which allow opening shorts on bitcoin, dropped sharply (to $0.6M). The previous week’s total capital inflows sharply revised from $12M to $343M.

The number of ransomware attacks fell by 23% amid the decline in the crypto market, SonicWall noted.

The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) will create a new Office of Technology Innovation to regulate the cryptocurrency industry.

According to Bloomberg, the US Securities and Exchange Commission is conducting a full-scale investigation into token listings on Coinbase that could be treated as securities.

The FxPro Analyst Team