- Ethereum led gains among the crypto majors, rising nearly 7% over the last 24 hours and approaching $2,300.
- Solana, Dogecoin, and XRP also outperformed Bitcoin over the past day.
- Oil prices remained near $100 per barrel while tensions between the U.S. and Iran remained elevated.
- Retail investors are awaiting the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate decision on Wednesday, with expectations that rates will remain unchanged.
Bitcoin (BTC) briefly touched $74,000 in early-morning trade before paring gains, while major altcoins like Ethereum (ETH) and Dogecoin (DOGE) outperformed the apex cryptocurrency. Investors were watching whether oil prices would cross $100 again and tracking geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and Iran ahead of the Federal Reserve’s rate cut meeting later this week.
Bitcoin’s price rose 2.1% in the last 24 hours to around $73,300 after touching an intra-day high of over $74,1000. Retail sentiment on Stocktwits around the apex cryptocurrency rose to ‘bullish’ from’ neutral’ territory over the past day. Chatter remained at ‘low’ levels.
Meanwhile, WTI crude oil traded at around $98.99 at the time of writing. The United States Oil Fund (USO) gained over 1% in pre-market trade. Retail sentiment around the fund remained in ‘extremely bullish’ territory, amid ‘extremely high levels of chatter.
According to one user on Stocktwits, Bitcoin and the equity market are slated to fall again once oil prices simmer down.
Altcoin Majors Outperform Bitcoin
Ethereum led gains among crypto majors on Monday morning, followed by Solana (SOL), Dogecoin, and Ripple’s native token (XRP). Ethereum’s price gained nearly 7% in the last 24 hours, heading into $2,300 territory again. Retail sentiment around the altcoin flipped to ‘bullish’ from ‘bearish’ over the past day, while chatter remained at ‘normal’ levels.
Some users questioned whether Ethereum’s price would sustain the rally or if the uptick was another “fake out.”
Solana’s price rose 5.5% in the last 24 hours to around $93.5. However, retail sentiment around the token remained in ‘bearish’ territory over the past day, as did retail sentiment around Ripple, while XRP’s price rose 4.1% in the last 24 hours.
Meanwhile, retail sentiment around Dogecoin lifted itself to ‘neutral’ territory from the ‘bearish’ zone over the past day, and chatter around the memecoin rose to ‘high’ from ‘normal’ levels. Dogecoin’s price was up 4.9% in the last 24 hours, climbing back above $0.10.
Markets Await Federal Reserve Policy Update
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is slated to announce its decision on whether or not interest rates will be cut this month on Wednesday. It is only one of seven central banks that will announce monetary policy updates this week. According to the CME FedWatch tool, the market is not anticipating a rate cut, with a 99.1% probability that the interest rate will remain between 3.50% and 3.75%.
“Markets are breaking upwards,” crypto analyst Michael van de Poppe said in a post on X. According to him, there’s more upside to come from Ethereum, which should result in a rally towards $80,000 for Bitcoin. However, according to analyst Ted Pillows, Bitcoin is poised to face heavy resistance between $75,000 and $76,000. He expects Bitcoin to “fake out” above $76,000 before dropping back below $60,000.
Read also: Bitcoin’s Breakout Sparks Fresh Rally In Crypto Stocks: BMNR Leads Gains In Pre-Market
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