The crypto market has started the week well, with Bitcoin jumping above $66,000, and the valuation of all tokens jumping by 2.1% to $2.2 trillion. The 24-hour volume jumped by 31% to over $64 billion. This article explores some of the top crypto news to watch this week.
Crypto Market News: US-Iran Deal
The key crypto news this week is the US and Iranian peace deal that extends the ceasefire by another 60 days. Extending this ceasefire will give the US and Iranians more time to reach a nuclear agreement.
The deal has already led to a strong surge in the crypto market, with Bitcoin soaring to $66,000 for the first time in months. Some of the top gainers on Monday were tokens like Worldcoin, Zcash, Layer Zero, and Near Protocol, which jumped by over 10% in the last 24 hours.
The US deal is important for the crypto industry in three main ways. For one, it removes the main underlying risk that the market has faced in the past few months. Such a move may help to incentivize a risk-on sentiment in the market.
At the same time, it leads to lower crude oil prices, which will have a positive outlook for inflation. Data released last week showed that the headline consumer and producer inflation jumped to 4.2% and 6.5%, respectively.
Still, the deal faces some risks, especially Israel, which was not involved in the negotiations. Chances are that Israel will continue its bombardment of Lebanon, a move aimed at pulling back Iran and the US back to war.
Federal Reserve and BoJ Interest Rate Decisions
The other key crypto news this week will be the interest rate decisions by the Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan. Analysts believe that the Fed, now under Kevin Warsh, will leave interest rates unchanged between 3.5% and 3.75%.
Officials may decide to turn dovish now that crude oil prices have started coming down. This explains why the US and Iran bond yields have continued falling in the past few days. A dovish tone will be a bullish factor for Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies.
The other key central bank to watch will be the Bank of Japan (BoJ), which will deliver its interest rate decision on Tuesday. This decision will be important as the bank is expected to hike interest rates by 0.25%, bringing the benchmark rate to 1%. This will be the highest rate in over three decades.
A BoJ rate hike is normally seen as a bearish catalyst for risky assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum. That’s because Japan is one of the biggest global investors, and high yields at home may lead to the unwinding of the carry trade.
Strategy Bitcoin Buying Disclosures
The crypto market will also react to the latest announcement on Strategy’s Bitcoin purchases. In an X post on Sunday, Michael Saylor hinted that the company continued its buying process.
In the past, the company normally makes its disclosures on Monday. Last week, it revealed that it bought 1,550 coins worth over $101 million. This announcement helped to boost crypto prices as the firm had revealed its first Bitcoin selling a week earlier.
Potential BTC ETF Inflows After the SpaceX IPO
This week could see some Bitcoin ETF buying as investors embrace a risk-on sentiment after the SpaceX IPO. Data shows that BTC ETFs added $85 million in assets on Friday last week.
Spot Bitcoin ETFs have shed assets in the past few months as investors rotated to stocks and other high-flying assets. This could change now that the IPO has already happened.
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