Bitcoin experienced a modest uptick on Monday but continued to trade within a narrow range, despite growing optimism surrounding potential interest rate adjustments by major central banks and weakness in the US dollar.
The world’s largest cryptocurrency saw a 1.5% increase over the past 24 hours, reaching $69,253.8 by 08:18 ET (12:18 GMT). However, Bitcoin remained firmly entrenched within a trading range of $60,000 to $70,000 established since mid-March.
Even with the re-election of El Salvador President Nayib Bukele, who famously adopted Bitcoin as legal tender in 2021, the cryptocurrency market saw little price action. Bukele, a prominent figure in the crypto space, had utilized the country’s treasury to acquire Bitcoin from the open market. However, during his recent swearing-in ceremony, Bukele made minimal references to Bitcoin and notably removed all mentions of cryptocurrencies from his social media profiles.
Despite initial enthusiasm over El Salvador’s adoption of Bitcoin, the cryptocurrency failed to significantly boost the country’s economy, which struggled with soaring government debt levels during Bukele’s first term. Furthermore, Bukele’s ambitious plans for a “Bitcoin City” failed to attract substantial interest from private investors, prompting El Salvador to resort to traditional debt markets with a $1 billion bond sale earlier this year. Nevertheless, El Salvador’s Bitcoin holdings witnessed substantial appreciation in value amid Bitcoin’s impressive rally throughout 2023 and early 2024.
Meanwhile, broader cryptocurrency prices exhibited minimal movement on Monday, failing to capitalize on the rally observed in risk-driven markets amid speculation of impending interest rate cuts. Ethereum, the second-largest token, inched up by 0.15% to $3,811.02, while Solana posted a modest gain of 0.5% and XRP experienced a slight decline of 0.4%. Among meme coins, SHIB saw a marginal loss of 0.2%, whereas DOGE recorded a modest increase of 1.6%.
In traditional markets, stocks rallied as investors anticipated interest rate cuts by the European Central Bank and the Bank of Canada later in the week. Expectations for a rate cut by the Federal Reserve in September grew following data released on Friday indicating a slight moderation in inflation. The central bank is widely anticipated to maintain interest rates at current levels during its upcoming meeting next week.
In other news, Monochrome Asset Management announced the launch of Australia’s first spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), trading under the ticker IBTC on the Cboe Australia exchange starting Tuesday. This ETF is unique in Australia as it directly holds Bitcoin, offering investors exposure to the cryptocurrency while benefiting from the investor protection regulations under the Australian Financial Services Licensing (AFSL) regime. The product received approval from the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) and the Cboe Australia exchange prior to its launch.
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