- The crypto market experienced two-way volatility in July as speculators reacted to the events.
- The Federal Reserve kept interest rates at their current 23-year high for the eighth time in a row.
Bitcoin [BTC] traded virtually unchanged on the last day of July, immediately after the Federal Open Market Committee’s interest rate decision.
Meets market expectations, Fed policymakers held the Fed Funds benchmark rate is between 5.25% and 5.50%. With the June FOMC meeting in mind, traders are now looking ahead to the first rate cut of the year in September.
In his comments after the FOMC meeting, Chairman Jerome Powell hinted that there is an ongoing discussion about a September rate cut, the possibility of which depends on strong economic growth numbers.
An interest rate cut could potentially increase market liquidity, which in turn would be generally beneficial for cryptocurrencies.
Trends in July
A mild pullback in the cryptocurrency ahead of the month-end wiped out some of Bitcoin’s gains, with Coinglass showing that the flagship crypto returned just 2.95% in July.
Source: TradingView
The meager positive returns nevertheless set the stage for Bitcoin to pursue new annual price highs.
Ethereum, on the other hand [ETH] underperformed, losing 5.88% over the same period despite positive influences, including the go-live of US spot Ether ETFs.
As a result, the ETH/BTC ratio fell in July, falling 10.72% by the end of the month.
Source: TradingView
Among the large-cap altcoins is MANTRA [OM] and Helium [HNT] performed best in July, with returns of 44% and 36% respectively over the entire month.
Phantom [FTM]Flare [FLR]and Starknet [STRK]on the other hand, they all lost more than 30%.
Forecasts for August
The bargain hunt theme continued last month, as addresses with a balance of at least 0.1% of BTC’s circulating supply added approximately 84,000 BTC to their supply, according to Bitcoin-owned IntoTheBlock. facts.
The scoop marked the fastest accumulation rate since October 2014.
IntoTheBlock reported separately in an X (formerly Twitter) after that the number of daily new addresses rose 35% on July 30 since reaching a multi-year low in early June.
Source: IntoTheBlock
Strategic accumulation by whale and shark investors has historically suggested a breakout to the upside from current margins.
The renewed capital inflow into the crypto market further supports the bullish sentiment.
CCData noted in its latest Stablecoins & CBDCs report that the total market capitalization of stablecoins grew 2.11% in July to $164 billion – the highest level since April 2022.
Technical outlook
Bitcoin has been trading between $58,000 and $70,000 for five months.
Bullish traders are looking to break the prevailing resistance at $69,600 as this puts $72,000 in sight, which provided the next major barrier to challenge the March all-time high.
Read Bitcoin’s [BTC] Price forecast 2024-25
So far, bears have fiercely defended the upper limits of the prevailing consolidation range, successfully thwarting attempts to break the $70,000 barrier.
Multiple rejections above $69,600 since March indicate that BTC price needs a strong catalyst to overcome the hurdle.