Bitcoin is still on a roll, briefly surpassing $28K for the first time in a while, and is up 20.8% for March.
The recent bullish momentum seen with Bitcoin (BTC) shows no signs of fatigue as it recently surpassed $28K. BTC’s latest price development marks the first time since last June that the crypto has surged past $28,000. The world’s largest crypto by market cap has now gained a staggering 37.8% for the week. Bitcoin is also up 20.8% this month, with observers and analysts foreseeing the leading token advancing further.
According to TradingView, Sunday’s price development represented a 5.2% surge in BTC value over the past 24 hours. The upswing has also seen BTC’s market swell to $548 billion.
The global crypto market cap inched 1.11% upwards to $1.18 trillion, with Bitcoin’s dominance remaining above 45%. Currently, BTC global trades contribute $42.9 billion to the total $203 billion in digital assets trade volume. Bitcoin is also some $23.94 billion away from Tesla’s (NASDAQ: TSLA) market cap of $569.94 billion. The prominent electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer is currently the world’s tenth-largest asset by market valuation.
Bitcoin $28K Price Development Comes Amid Fed Rate Hike Ruminations
March’s Bitcoin $28K rally comes amid speculations regarding the Federal Reserve’s next move on interest rates. There is widespread speculation that the US apex bank could slow or even suspend further rate hikes due to prevailing circumstances. Although the Fed appears hellbent on stemming inflation, analysts believe the central bank could rethink its strategy following notable commercial bank collapses.
Less than two weeks ago, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank were among three prominent US banks that declared bankruptcy. The SVB collapse, which marked the second-largest bank failure in US history, was due to a bank run.
Silicon Valley’s bankruptcy, the largest since the 2008 financial crisis, sent shockwaves throughout the financial world. The collapse also had a ripple effect that severely affected other financial institutions and left investors on edge.
In light of the banking crisis, CME’s FedWatch tool revealed a 62% chance of the Fed hiking rates by 25 basis points. The predictor showed a 38% chance that rates would remain unchanged after the next Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting.
Meanwhile, the Fed released a statement on enhancing US dollar liquidity provision ahead of its meeting this week. The US apex bank, in conjunction with the central banks of some other developed countries, explained:
“To improve the swap lines’ effectiveness in providing US dollar funding, the central banks currently offering US dollar operations have agreed to increase the frequency of 7-day maturity operations from weekly to daily. These daily operations will commence on Monday, March 20, 2023, and will continue at least through the end of April.”
On Saturday, Bernstein analysts Gautam Chhugani and Manas Agrawal ascribed the crypto rally to a reset in the risk profile of assets. According to the duo, investors no longer view uninsured cash deposits as a safe haven.
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