Bitcoin Dips Below $115,000 Amid ETF Inflows and Fed Rate Decision
Bitcoin (BTC) fell below $115,000 on Monday, ending last week’s steady rise. This drop affected the wider cryptocurrency market, with Ethereum (ETH) and Ripple (XRP) also showing signs of weakness.
Institutional Interest in Bitcoin and Ethereum
Institutional investors remain interested in Bitcoin. US spot Bitcoin ETFs saw $2.34 billion in inflows last week. This brings the total inflow volume to $56.83 billion. The total net assets for Bitcoin ETFs are around $153 billion.
Ethereum ETFs also gained momentum. They attracted about $638 million last week. The total inflow volume for Ethereum ETFs is over $13 billion, with net assets near $30 billion.
For XRP, retail demand stays strong. Futures Open Interest (OI) was $8.7 billion on Monday, slightly down from $8.95 billion on Sunday. This shows some traders are repositioning ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision.
Fed Rate Decision and Market Expectations
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) will meet on Wednesday. Most expect the Fed to cut interest rates by 0.25 percentage points. The current US interest rate is between 4.25% and 4.50%. A rate cut could boost riskier assets like stocks and cryptocurrencies.
Bitcoin Price and Technical Outlook
Bitcoin’s price remains below $115,000, cooling off after last week’s gains above $116,000. Technical indicators show mixed signals ahead of the Fed meeting.
- The Relative Strength Index (RSI) dropped to 55, indicating weaker bullish momentum.
- The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) still favors bulls, with the MACD line above the signal line.
- Support levels to watch are the 50-day EMA at $113,399 and the 100-day EMA at $111,281.
Altcoins Update: Ethereum and XRP Show Weakness
Ethereum’s price is just above $4,500 amid increased market volatility. The RSI at 55 suggests a short-term pullback. However, the MACD remains bullish. If prices fall further, the 50-day EMA at $4,187 may act as support.
XRP is testing a key descending trendline after dropping from $3.18. The RSI holds at 50, down from 60 on Saturday, showing less buying pressure. If XRP falls below this level, it could test the 50-day EMA at $2.93. The 100-day EMA at $2.81 and 200-day EMA at $2.56 may provide further support.
