Cryptocurrency prices trended lower on Wednesday as concerns about the health of the global economy finally caught up with financial markets, with cryptos taking a hit while stocks saw volatility as investors moved to secure the dollar value of their investments amid uncertain times for the global financial system.The weakness across markets came as the minutes from the Fed’s January meeting showed most Fed officials cautioned against “the risks of moving too quickly” in easing interest rates.The CME FedWatch Tool shows that investors now anticipate the first cut will happen in June, giving it a 72% probability.At the closing bell, a late-day surge lifted the S&P and Dow to a positive close, with both indices finishing up 0.13%, while the Nasdaq fell short of getting back to even and closed down 0.32%.
Data provided by TradingView shows that after breaking below support at $52,000, Bitcoin ( [BTC](https://www.kitco.com/price/crypto/bitcoin)) spent the remainder of the day oscillating around support at $51,000, with bulls and bears evenly matched for strength.At the time of writing, BTC trades at $51,040, a decrease of 1.8% on the 24-hour chart.[BTC/USD](https://www.tradingview.com/symbols/BTCUSD/?exchange=Coinbase) Chart by TradingView While March Bitcoin futures prices were trading lower in the early hours on Wednesday, in what Kitco senior technical analyst Jim Wyckoff called “a normal downside correction in an existing uptrend,” he also noted that “bulls still have the solid overall near-term technical advantage,” and said, “There are no significant early technical clues that a market top is close at hand.” Consolidation after significant gains Bitcoin’s consolidation above $50,000 is not surprising to market analyst Bloodgood, who [noted](https://bloodgoodxbt.substack.com/p/bloodgoods-notes-115) that its 30%+ increase since Jan.24 suggested that a period of consolidation and a potential 10% pullback is warranted based on the orange coin’s price history.
But it may not hold at these levels for an extended period, he suggested, as heavy inflows into spot BTC ETFs signal a high level of demand from retail and institutional investors who prefer a simplified and familiar approach to investing in crypto.“The best way to really appreciate the extent of the inflows is to consider that the BTC holdings of all ETFs minus GBTC have surpassed those of MicroStrategy,” Bloodgood said.“In other words: all of Saylor’s buys since 2020 were surpassed by the ETFs in just over a month.If that isn’t bullish, then I don’t know what is.” “Unsurprisingly, crypto stocks have also been having a good time, with Coinbase beating earnings last week and reaching its highest level since April 2022,” he added.
“MicroStrategy also put in a 60% pump this month, even though its main use case – that of essentially being a Bitcoin ETF substitute before the spot ETFs were launched – has now obviously become redundant for investors who just want exposure to Bitcoin.” Delving into the price action for BTC, Bloodgood noted that the new week brought a new high for Bitcoin in the current market cycle.“This time BTC briefly broke through the $52k level and at the time of writing it is fighting the resistance which lies a bit below $52k,” he said.
“Our plan here is simple: if BTC is rejected at current levels, we are bidding $47k, otherwise we are going straight to high 50s.” “If Bitcoin manages to break above $52k, there is only one more major level before all-time-highs,” Bloodgood said.
“I don’t know about you, but it sure feels good to say that.” Switching to the daily time frame, he noted that the chart “shows a clearer picture of how bulls and bears are fighting over this level, with dumps that were bought up and pumps that were sold into.” “I don’t suggest trying to predict the direction in the middle of the chop here.Instead, wait for a clear signal and then trade it,” Bloodgood said.“Either way, the monthly close is near and we want to see the candle close above $50k.” “Although crypto is now having its well-earned moment in the sun – one that’s only a foreshadowing of what’s to come – it’s crucial to pay attention to risk management, especially since the market will continue to be influenced by stocks, dollar liquidity and the global macro outlook,” he concluded.
“In case you haven’t noticed, stocks have been up – only for a while, spurred on by the expectation of rate cuts and an all-out AI frenzy.If there are any changes here, you can definitely expect the shockwaves to spread throughout crypto as well.” Altcoins dip as traders take profits Altcoins followed Bitcoin’s lead lower on Wednesday, with all but 20 tokens in the top 200 recording losses amid profit-taking by traders.Daily cryptocurrency market performance.Source: Coin360 JasmyCoin (JASMY) was the main exception to the downturn, increasing by 36.7% to trade at $0.158, while Siacoin (SC) climbed 9.7%, and Helium Mobile (MOBILE) gained 7.8%.dogwifhat (WIF) was the biggest loser, falling 16.2%, followed by a loss of 12.9% for Ronin (RON), and a decline of 12.4% for Starknet (STRK).The overall cryptocurrency market cap now stands at $1.94 trillion, and Bitcoin’s dominance rate is 51.8%..
