Bitcoin, Ethereum Retreat Over Interest Rate Fears, Trader Cautions Those Expecting $50,000 Apex Crypto This Summer, ‘Things Are Never That Easy’
By Benzinga
Major coins were seen in the red on Sunday evening at 8:55 p.m. as the global cryptocurrency market cap declined 1.75% to $1.1 trillion.
| Coin | 24-hour | 7-day | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) | -1.7% | 11.5% | $24,254.32 |
| Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) | -1.2% | 10.7% | $1,671.60 |
| Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) | -2% | 6.4% | $0.09 |
| Cryptocurrency | 24-Hour % Change (+/-) | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Stacks (STX) | +82.8% | $0.72 |
| Conflux (CFX) | +41.4% | $0.22 |
| Filecoin (FIL) | +12.8% | $8.70 |
See Also: 11 Best Cryptocurrency Brokers In February 2023
What Happened: Bitcoin and Ethereum were seen lower after stocks ended last week on a mixed note. On Friday, the S&P 500 declined nearly 0.3% for the week, while the Nasdaq gained almost 0.6% in the same period.
Investors continued to worry about inflation and the resultant impact on interest rates. OANDA Senior Market Analyst, Edward Moya, wrote on Friday, “It isn’t just Fed expectations that are rising, traders are also expecting the ECB to send rates much higher. It looks like global growth will definitely take a harder hit as monetary policy gets even more restrictive over the next few months.”
Even so, the investor sentiment has boldened over the week. Last week, Alternative.me’s “Crypto Fear & Greed Index” flashed “Neutral” but at the time of writing it indicated “Greed.”
The Fear & Greed Index measures sentiment over time with values ranging from 0 to 100 where the highest value represents “Extreme Greed” and 0 indicates “Extreme Fear.”
Michaël van de Poppe noted that “people are focused” on Bitcoin flipping the 200-week moving average. The trader tweeted, “However, the Total Market Capitalization of [cryptocurrencies] did break through it and had a beautiful retest + sustained it as support. Most likely we'll continue with a 2x for the entire market from here.”
People are focused on #Bitcoin flipping the 200-Week MA.
However, the Total Market Capitalization of #crypto did break through it and had a beautiful retest + sustained it as support.
Most likely we'll continue with a 2x for the entire market from here. pic.twitter.com/OMIh5GP9Kv
— Michaël van de Poppe (@CryptoMichNL) February 18, 2023
Justin Bennett cautioned his followers that “things are never that easy.” The trader said there were many tweets comparing the bear market rally in 2019 and expecting a $50,000 Bitcoin this summer.
“The 2020/2021 bull market was nothing like 2017, so why assume the 2018/2019 bear market will repeat?”
Bennett, however, said he thinks “we see higher prices” from Bitcoin in the coming weeks.
So many tweets comparing the bear market rally in 2019 and expecting $50k $BTC this summer.
If the last bull market taught us anything, it's that things are never that easy.
The 2020/2021 bull market was nothing like 2017, so why assume the 2018/2019 bear market will repeat?
— Justin Bennett (@JustinBennettFX) February 19, 2023
Bitcoin and cryptocurrency investor Lark Davis noted the growth in Ethereum ownership last year and called it “Insane.” He shared a chart which showed that Ethereum ownership rose from 25 million in January 2022 to 87 million in December of that year. This represents a 248% increase.
According to the chart, Ethereum adoption rose significantly in the months leading to the so-called “Merge” or the cryptocurrency’s shift to a proof-of-stake model.
#ethereum owner growth in 2022, INSANE! What will 2023 bring? pic.twitter.com/GmMN51gaJi
— Lark Davis (@TheCryptoLark) February 19, 2023
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