Bitcoin returns to $25,000 as Credit Suisse bailout precedes EU rate hike
Bitcoin (BTC) rebounded for a fresh challenge of $25,000 on March 16 ahead of a key interest rate decision in Europe.
Credit Suisse Stocks Up 40% After ‘Decisive Action’
Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD up nearly $1,000 against lows of $24,229 on Bitstamp overnight.
The pair remained bullish on news that Switzerland’s central bank was to inject 50 billion Swiss francs ($53.8 billion) into embattled Credit Suisse, shares of which rose 40% on the day.
“These actions demonstrate decisive action to strengthen Credit Suisse as we continue our strategic transformation to deliver value to our clients and other stakeholders,” CEO Ulrich Koerner said in a press release.
While it averted a potential disaster, the move drew criticism ahead of a day full of economic maneuvering in both Europe and the US.
“When Swiss banks need bailouts to survive, it’s probably a good time to think about buying,” trader, analyst and podcast host Scott Melker, known as “The Wolf of all Streets,” commented.
Uncertainty surrounding European economic policy remained, however, with the European Central Bank (ECB) set to decide how much – if at all – interest rates should rise next.
Just like the US Federal Reserve, the ECB is caught between easing bank stress and keeping a lid on inflation. Today’s increase was previously supposed to be 50 basis points.
The Twitter macro analysis account Tedtalksmacro noted that Bitcoin may already be falling behind the stock markets based on the previous day’s performance.
In the US, the topic of interest was jobless claims, with analysts hoping for a beat of expectations to boost the chances that the Fed will swing on its own rate hike programme.
“We’re looking for a hot Jobless report to start plotting an uptrend in Jobless claims. Getting that will increase the likelihood that the FED will halt interest rate hikes this month,” chain monitoring resource Material Indicators wrote in part of the Twitter commentary.
Cointelegraph contributor Michaël van de Poppe, founder and CEO of trading firm Eight, said the jobs data marked a “big day.”
“Last week we saw the biggest jump since October, and wonder if we will see a continuation of that increase, which could mean we get higher unemployment numbers,” added.
Analysts see encouraging Bitcoin market strength
With that, traders took time to gauge the impact of macroeconomic changes, with BTC/USD still in a narrower trading range.
Related: Bitcoin to $100K Next? Analyst Sees ‘Textbook Perfect’ BTC Price Movement
“Same update as I watched yesterday guys,” popular trader Crypto Tony wrote in his latest update on the day.
“$23,400 stop loss on my existing long position, looking for shorts if we start to lose the $22,600 support zone until that kind of gets stuck in a sideways move.”
“BTC Grinding up as spot premium rises,” a cautiously optimistic Daan Crypto Trades meanwhile noted while viewing derivative data.
“Funding rates have already turned below baseline or to negative across the board. Looks healthy.”
Popular commentator Byzantine General, meanwhile, entertained the prospect of future BTC price falls as “very shallow.”
“The price continues to be in the upper range, the perps basis is already fully reset, the futs basis is still hovering around zero and there are a lot of spot bids that don’t seem to be going anywhere,” he agreed.
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