Bitcoin experienced a notable increase of nearly 1% over the past day, reaching a trade value of $116,364 on Wednesday, while Ethereum saw a slight decline of 0.64%, trading at $4,486. Analysts attribute the recent market movements to heightened anticipation surrounding the Federal Reserve’s upcoming rate cut decision. With Bitcoin hovering near the $117,000 mark and Ethereum making a rebound towards $4,500, the cryptocurrency market is gaining momentum.
Edul Patel, CEO of Mudrex, highlighted that over 44,000 BTC have been withdrawn from exchange reserves in September, according to data from Glassnode. “With fewer coins available to trade, immediate liquidity is tighter, potentially limiting short-term selling pressure,” he noted. Additionally, he pointed out that the recent rally in gold, reaching all-time highs, could further bolster Bitcoin’s upward momentum. A sustained move above $118,000 would confirm the bullish trend and open the door for Bitcoin to test new highs in the upcoming weeks.
As of 10:09 AM IST, Bitcoin was trading at $116,345, reflecting an increase of 0.91% in the past 24 hours and an almost 4.30% rise over the past week. In contrast, Ethereum stood at $4,487, down by 0.57% in the last 24 hours but up by 4.04% over the last seven days. The overall cryptocurrency market capitalization was reported to be around $4.03 trillion.
Another analyst noted that Bitcoin’s current holding pattern near the $116,000 level indicates that a 25 basis point rate cut may already be priced in. The structural outlook remains constructive as long as Bitcoin holds above $114,000, though there may be potential short-term volatility due to leverage and FOMC headlines. Vikram Subburaj, CEO of Giottus.com, remarked that exchange deposits for both BTC and ETH have dwindled to multi-month lows as large holders display caution. However, stablecoin inflows are on the rise, potentially providing exchanges with the necessary liquidity for a post-Fed market adjustment, should risk appetite increase.
Subburaj did express some concerns about liquidity, noting that September includes approximately $4.5 billion in token unlocks, which could affect market depth if there is a brisk rotation into higher-beta altcoins. He emphasized that the next phase of growth in the cryptocurrency market won’t solely depend on the rate cut but rather on the market’s ability to absorb token unlocks while continuing to channel flows into Bitcoin and Ethereum.
