First Mover: Bitcoin Price Gets Fed Boost, but Bond Yields Could Play Spoilsport: Analysts
 March 18, 2021  Everything you need to make sense of the crypto markets and beyond Sponsored By:  By the CoinDesk Markets Team Edited by Lawrence Lewitinn If you were forwarded this newsletter and would like to receive it, sign up here. Bitcoin (BTC) +6.3% $58,523 Ether (ETH) +2.9% $1,817 (Price data as of Mar. 18 @11:00 UTC) Good morning. Here's what we're writing about:
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MARKET MOVES by OMKAR GODBOLE Bitcoin Price Gets Fed Boost, but Bond Yields Could Play Spoilsport: Analysts Bitcoin's bull run looks set to continue after the Federal Reserve reconfirmed its pro-stimulus stance this week.
"The narrative for bitcoin (BTC, +6.29%) as the preferred store of value has only strengthened in the wake of Powell's comments," Matthew Dibb, co-founder and COO of Stack Funds said. "Our outlook on BTC remains very bullish, recent retracement to $53,000 was a short-lived pull back before the cryptocurrency makes way to fresh all time highs."
Fed Reserve Chair Jerome Powell pushed back against speculation of an early unwinding of monetary stimulus on Wednesday, boosting the appeal of inflation hedges such as bitcoin.
"The strong bulk of the committee is not showing a rate increase during this forecast period," Powell said during a virtual press conference Wednesday following a meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee, according to Bloomberg. The central bank head added that it was "not yet" time to talk about reducing the central bank's liquidity-boosting asset purchases.
Bitcoin picked up a bid near $55,500 following the Fed and rose nearly to $59,500 early today.
According to Denis Vinokourov, head of research at trading sentiment data provider Trade the Chain, further gains could be in the offing due to the Fed's decision to raise the per counterparty limit in the overnight reverse repurchase operations from $30 billion to $80 billion.
"The hike implies that the Fed wants to keep overnight rates [short-term borrowing costs] low," Vinokourov said. "Thus, its dollar-negative and in turn should spur on flow back into assets."
Besides, with the Fed-related uncertainty out of the way, bitcoin and the broader crypto market may now see a "stimmies' rally," as tweeted by trader Alex Kruger. As per Mizuho Securities' estimates, Americans may spend nearly $40 billion of the latest round of direct stimulus checks on bitcoin and stocks, boosting their prices.
Bitcoin's daily chart is also painting a bullish picture.
 Bitcoin daily chart (Source: TradingView)
Bitcoin jumped over 3% on Wednesday, confirming a bull revival signaled by Tuesday's "hammer" candle and shifting focus to record highs above $61,000 reached on Saturday.
Yield worries persists
Bitcoin bulls will be keeping an eye on the U.S. bond market, as a faster rise in yields could weigh over equities, inviting selling pressure for bitcoin, too.
"A rise in yields is problematic period, but a speedy ascent can destabilize markets," Kruger told CoinDesk in a Telegram chat.
Equities and bitcoin took a hit in the last week of February, with the latter falling by 20%, as the 10-year yield spiked to 12-month highs above 1.5%.
Similar downturns could be seen if the yield continues to rise. At press time, the 10-year is seen at a 14-month high of 1.72% versus 1.62% pre-Fed Reserve announcement and 1.52% a week ago. The Fed's reassurance of continued stimulus support has so far failed to keep the benchmark yield from extending its recent rise.
However, pullbacks in bitcoin, if any, would be short-lived, according to LMAX Digital's currency strategist. "As bitcoin matures into a full-fledged store of value asset, risk-off events will be bitcoin-supportive," Kruger said in a Twitter response to this article's author.
Bitcoin is currently changing hands near $58,450, up 6.3% over 24 hours, according to CoinDesk 20 data.
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TECHNICIAN'S TAKE by DAMANICK DANTES Bitcoin Rallies Towards $60K Resistance, Short-Term Support Seen at $56K Bitcoin (BTC) buyers defended support around $54,000 yesterday, but the upside has stalled just shy of the $60,000 resistance level. The short-term trend is improving, which should keep traders active at lower support levels.  Hourly chart shows bitcoin holding support, albeit with an overbought RSI.
--Damanick Dantes
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