Bitcoin and the broader cryptocurrency markets remain a subdued affair as the week gets under way.
We can see from the chart below that exchange traded bitcoin volumes are particularly low compared to the trailing 12 months. While this does not take into account over-the-counter exchanges, it still indicates relatively low interest among traders right now.
Bitcoin interest may be feeling the effects of negative press, whether it’s aggressive actions taken by regulators in the broader cryptocurrency space, or the crisis surrounding high-profile crypto bank Silvergate Capital.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Monday that the government is monitoring the Silvergate situation
READ: As Silvergate tanks even further, Microstrategy, Coinbase and others jump ship
Dollar strength is also an inevitable headwind. Despite the disinflation narrative around the start of the year, the US Dollar Index (DXY) rallied over 2% in February alone, and despite a slight pullback since then, there is reason to believe dollar strength will persist.
As ING analysts said this morning: “While we welcome the start of a broad disinflation process in early February, we doubt Powell will push back much against expectations of another 75bp of Fed(eral reserve) hikes. This should see the dollar hold up.
All in all, the market environment isn’t exactly screaming bullish on bitcoin, nor should it strike fear into the bulls’ hearts.
For now, the BTC/USDT pair is exchanging hands at USD 22,400, essentially the same price point of the last four days, with some buyers’ support parked at USD 22,200 per the Binance order book.
Is bitcoin (BTC) stuck in a rut? – Source: currency.com
As for Ethereum (ETH), the second largest cryptocurrency has closed within the US$1,560 and US$1,570 band for the past three days and is currently in the range as of Tuesday morning.
In the altcoin space
After weeks of extended losses, Polygon (MATIC) appears to be turning its fortunes around. The Layer-2 blockchain increased by over 3% on Tuesday morning, certainly outperforming the market.
MATIC investors are gearing up for the much hyped zkEVM Mainnet Beta, which is set to launch at the end of the month.
Avalanche (AVAX) had a good Monday session, finishing 2.5% higher, but has flattened this morning, in line with the rest of the top-20 set.
Shiba Inu-themed meme coin FLOKI entered the top-100 club after a 9% overnight rally that brought the Ethereum and BNB Chain-based token’s market capitalization up to US$393mln.
FLOKI appeared to be rallying on the back of a listing with major Indian cryptocurrency exchange WazirX.
Other top engines included gaming platform Enjin Coin (ENJ), decentralized exchange GMX, and decentralized staking platform ssv.network (SSV).
Global cryptocurrency market capitalization rose 0.4% to $1.03 billion overnight, while the total value across all decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols remained flat at $48.3 billion.
