Bitcoin’s (BTC) price movement has stalled, with the maiden cryptocurrency trading below $24,000 after this year’s momentum was cut partly due to macroeconomic and regulatory factors.
Despite Bitcoin being hit by bearish sentiments, Kitco News analyst Jim Wycoff on February 24 maintained that the price movement is no cause for alarm, noting that bulls are still in control.
According to the analyst, the price pause is a routine trajectory.
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“March Bitcoin futures prices are again near steady in early U.S. trading Friday. Not much new. This week’s sideways price action, or pause, is routine and not bearish. Bulls still have the overall near-term technical advantage as a price uptrend is in place on the daily chart,” he said.
Bitcoin corrects amid possible interest rate hikes
Bitcoin’s ongoing stagnation correlates with an increased possibility of the Federal Reserve hiking interest rates after the PCE data for January was released. The data revealed that the disinflation trend of the past few months has reversed, indicating a potential upward trend in interest rates.
Compared to economist forecasts, the PCE Price Index for January surpassed expectations, highlighting a rise of 5.4% from the same period last year, which is higher than the 5.3% rate reported in December.
Before the macroeconomic elements kicked in, Bitcoin had exhibited resilience with the asset putting aside any fallout from the renewed United States crackdown on the crypto sector. Notably, Bitcoin reclaimed the $25,000 position despite regulators cracking down on staking and stablecoin issuance.
Despite the lingering uncertainty, Jeremy Allaire, the CEO of USDC stablecoin issuer Circle has stressed that Bitcoin is here to stay. During an interview with CNBC on February 24, Allaire also backed Ethereum (ETH) to stay on the grounds that the network is witnessing development activities.
At the same time, he noted that despite the market downturn of last year, USDC recorded growth.
“Bitcoin is here to stay. Ethereum as a platform, people are building on it. All of last year, during the carnage, while digital assets were down so much, USDC actually grew. <…>A digital dollar that works on top of these blockchain networks has real utility and real value, gives us somewhat of an indicator into where is the utility comes from as we go forward,” he said.
Bitcoin price analysis
By press time, Bitcoin was trading at $23,161, with the asset recording weekly losses of over 3%.
In the meantime, Bitcoin controls a market cap of $447.5 billion.
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