The global cryptocurrency market capitalization topped $4 trillion on Friday, September 12, continuing this month’s generally rising trend.
Enjoying renewed institutional interest and recording $1.7 billion in fresh U.S. spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) inflows over the past week, Bitcoin (BTC) still dominates, accounting for $2.95 trillion of the total, according to data from CoinMarketCap.
To put things into perspective, Ethereum (ETH), the second largest crypto, sits at about $546 billion, with ETF inflows of only $232 million over the same period.
Stablecoins account for around $268 billion of the overall market cap, while other cryptocurrencies are worth just over $900 billion.
Macroeconomic conditions still shaky
the surge in the crypto market comes asthe macroeconomic environment remains uncertain. The latest consumer price index (CPI) update showed annual inflation rising to 2.9% in August, the highest since January.
However, the data also showed that wholesale costs slightly eased, implying that while inflation is still rising, it is doing so at a slower pace.
The Fed has resisted cutting rates for more than a year, but traders are betting on it in expectation of the upcoming policy meeting next week, with the cryptocurrency-based prediction platform Polymarket giving it an 87% chance of happening.
The optimism is hardly surprising. Namely, momentum in financial markets was building up in July, and a potential rate cut could reinforce that trend.
Naturally, the implications would extend far beyond Bitcoin. Ethereum and other Layer-1 (L1) networks, for instance, have shown strong sensitivity to U.S. monetary policy shifts, as have altcoins, which are known to swing more sharply during liquidity rotations.
“At present levels, the next leg for price will hinge primarily on the U.S. monetary policy pivot and the durability of flows into spot Bitcoin ETFs [exchange-traded funds],” wrote Linh Tran, an analyst at trading platform XS.com.
It thus appears that while the crypto market is experiencing some relief, the situation is far from certain, and the Federal Reserve’s decision will likely have a substantial impact on the industry this year.
Featured image via Shutterstock
