Bitcoin strengthened in the
first half of the week and the middle, having managed to test the highs of
early January above $45,800. The situation changed on Thursday after the
release of US inflation data, which updated the maximum levels for 40 years,
and US stock indices fell. This had a negative impact, among other things, on
cryptocurrencies, which showed a significant correlation with other risky
assets.
Late last week, the Fed announced an unscheduled meeting to be held today,
February 14th. As a result of the meeting, the regulator may well raise rates
without waiting til March. Moreover, even a double increase is possible, by
0.50%. Tightening monetary policy can hit all risky assets, including
cryptocurrencies.
On February 12th, the bitcoin network hashrate updated all-time highs above 248
EH/s. The indicator indicates the strengthening of the position of the
blockchain and the development of its infrastructure.
Cathie Wood, head of investment company ARK Invest, actively sold shares of the
Grayscale Bitcoin Trust backed by bitcoin throughout February. Note that these
securities were purchased in July last year, at the time of the BTC reversal
upwards.
The Central Bank of Hungary has now called on EU countries to ban
cryptocurrency trading and mining. The Bank of Russia announced its desire to
reduce the involvement of citizens in the crypto market. For example, the
Ministry of Finance proposed limiting the list of cryptocurrencies traded in
Russia.
In general, Bitcoin rose by 1.6% over the past week, ending it at around
$42,200. Ethereum lost 5.1%, other leading altcoins from the top ten also
mostly sank: from 4.3% (Binance Coin) to 19% (Solana) for a week. The exception
was the XRP token, which showed a 20% increase.
The total capitalization of the crypto market,
according to CoinGecko, decreased by 1.5% over the week to $1.96 trillion. The
Bitcoin Dominance Index rose by 1% to 40.7% due to the weakening of altcoins.
This
article was written by FxPro’s Senior
Market Analyst Alex Kuptsikevich.
