- Bitcoin does not have bullish sentiment in the short term, but a move towards $67,000 could be likely.
- Macro news events related to September expectations may have dealt a bearish blow to BTC.
Bitcoin [BTC] is the king of crypto, not just because it has the largest market capitalization. It is the most robust and the earliest on the market, and has been a weather vane for sentiment over the past decade.
Its price movements influence most of the crypto market and can help answer the question of why crypto is so bad today.
Source: Farside Investors
ETF flows have been subdued over the past two days, signaling bearish sentiment in the near term. It probably won’t determine the long-term trend. This is due to liquidity and broader market expectations.
The FOMC meeting threw a spanner in the works
The US Federal Reserve has not changed the Fed Funds rate from the range of 5.25%-5.5%. While this was good news, it also did not provide positive indications for a rate cut in September.
The FOMC statement read:
“Inflation has decreased over the past year, but remains somewhat elevated.”
It continued,
“The Committee aims for maximum employment and inflation of 2 percent in the longer term.”
Data from the CME Fed Watch showed that the market does not expect an interest rate cut in mid-September. Before the FOMC meeting, this was not the case and a 0.25% (25 basis points) interest rate cut was expected in September.
This hawkish news could have caused Bitcoin prices to drop.
Clues from statistics and liquidation levels
Crypto analyst Axel Adler posted on X (formerly Twitter) that nettaker volume has shown mostly bearish pressure over the past two months.
Measuring the difference between taker buy and taker sell orders can provide hints about sentiment. For reference, the taker indicates market orders and the maker indicates limit orders.
Read Bitcoin’s [BTC] Price forecast 2024-25
The liquidation cluster of $63.7k-$63.9k was reached, and the price is starting to move away from it. The near-term liquidation heatmap showed $67,000 as the next target.
Overall, market sentiment was bearish and September expectations for a rate cut were muted. Together they explained why prices and sentiment in the crypto market have fallen in recent days.