Bitcoin price traded sideways today to fall below $22,400, well-off mid-week highs. The largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization was recently exchanging at about $22,300, down a percentage point over the previous 24 hours. At the time of writing, BTC is changing hands at $22,284.
BTC/USD 4-hour chart | Source: TradingView
Bitcoin price falls below $22,400; altcoins drop
Bitcoin had reached a more than one-month high on Wednesday, cracking $24,000, and was still trading comfortably over $23,000 before investors revisited their anxieties over inflation and the economy to back away from riskier assets.
Ether, the second largest crypto by market cap, was trading at $1,560, also down slightly for the same period. Other cryptos were largely red, with YGG and AXS off more than 7%. The crypto Fear & Greed Index has improved over the past two weeks but remains in fear territory, reflecting deep concerns about conditions potentially affecting crypto.
Crypto Fear & Greed Index as of July 25 | Source: Alternative.me
To be sure, market observers have viewed Bitcoin’s recent tenacity above $22,000 positively amid an unexpectedly high consumer price index (CPI) this month, slowing economic indicators and poor earnings. But crypto markets this week also struggled to make sense of Tesla’s decision to jettison $936 million of its bitcoin holdings, the latest pivot in company founder and crypto influencer Elon Musk’s ever-changing relationship with digital assets. Bitcoin has increasingly responded to the wider environment, including stock prices, which have plummeted this year.
Investors will now be eyeing this week’s interest rate decision by the U.S. central bank’s Federal Open Markets Committee (FOMC). The FOMC is widely expected to approve a 75-basis point hike, robust enough to satisfy critics of Federal Reserve timidity in tackling inflation but reasonable enough to encourage those who prefer a more moderate approach that is less likely to spur a steep recession and affect assets.
The overall cryptocurrency market cap stands at $1,023 trillion, and Bitcoin’s dominance rate is 41.6%.
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