Hassan Maishera
TL;DR
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Bitcoin is trading above $98k after adding nearly 2% to its value in the last 24 hours.
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The positive performance comes after the Atlanta Fed president suggested signs of slowing in employment are growing.
Bitcoin Tops $98k, Altcoins Rally Higher
The cryptocurrency market is in the green following a poor start to the week. Bitcoin, the leading cryptocurrency by market cap, is up nearly 2% in the last 24 hours and now trades at $98,350.
The positive performance comes following dovish comments from Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic. In an essay, Bostic wrote that,
"I view the employment outlook as stable, but signs of slowing are accumulating. Consequently, the average stint of unemployment is about three weeks longer than it was in August."
He pointed out that it is becoming harder for unemployed workers to find a job than a few months ago, and job-finding probabilities are lower now than they were pre-pandemic.
The Fed president added that he expects moderate inflation as the rent slowdown increases. Furthermore, despite the recent data, Bostic predicts two rate cuts in 2025.
In an email to Cryptowisser on inflation’s impact on Bitcoin, Ruslan Lienkha, Chief of Markets, YouHodler, said,
“Inflation trends vary by country, but in the U.S., inflation remains persistently high and has even shown a slight uptick, recently returning to 3%. With the Federal Reserve's 2% target still appearing distant, interest rates will likely remain elevated for an extended period. This prolonged high-rate environment adds selling pressure to the markets, making it more challenging for equity indices to gain momentum. As a result, Bitcoin continues to trade within a sideways channel without any clearly defined trend.”
With Bitcoin hitting the $98k level, altcoins are also in the green. SUI, Sui Network’s native coin, is the best performer in the top 20, up 7% in the last 24 hours. Cardano (ADA), Solana (SOL), and Tron (TRX) all added 3% to their values.
However, Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, added less than 1% to its value and now trades at $2,744 per coin.
The Ethereum network is anticipating a major upgrade, which could affect ETH’s price in the near term. Lienkha added that,
“If the upgrade proceeds smoothly, it will undoubtedly serve as a decisive pro-growth factor in the medium and long term. It will reinforce Ethereum's market position amid increasing competition from other blockchains. Ethereum remains the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization and the leading ecosystem for Layer 2 solutions with real-world economic applications.”
The total cryptocurrency market cap has climbed above $3.2 trillion, up 1.2% in the last 24 hours.
