Within the last hour Bitcoin (BTC) price broke out of its sideways range to briefly push above the $9,500 level. The move comes after a slight uptick in daily trading volume since Monday (July 20) and traders will now watch to see if the top-ranked digital asset on CoinMarketCap can hold $9,500 and pursue a daily higher high above $9,775.
Perhaps the move is purely technical as Bitcoin price has been compressing into a tighter range of higher lows and lower highs since early June, or possibly investor sentiment has been buoyed by recent events in the news.
Crypto market weekly price chart. Source: Coin360
Earlier today Cointelegraph reported that the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has given permission to allow federally chartered U.S. banks to provide clients with crypto custody services.
This is a positive step forward as it removes some of the rigamarole involved in acquiring and storing cryptocurrency, meaning, crypto investors will eventually be able to hold their digital assets in the same bank where they keep their checking, savings, and brokerage accounts.
The recent announcement from the European Union to kickstart another $857 billion euro round of stimulus and the expectation that the U.S. Federal Reserve will follow suit with a $1 to $2 trillion economic stimulus package could also be boosting investors’ belief that as long as the Fed is printing, equities will rise and Bitcoin will soon make another run at $10,000.
In regards to the new rounds of stimulus Gemini exchange co-founder and CEO Tyler Winklevoss suggested that:
“The Fed continues to set the stage for Bitcoin’s bull run.”
Central bank printing continues to push the markets higher
In traditional markets, silver started off the week with a strong pump which completed a nice cup and handle pattern on the daily timeframe, and at the time of writing the asset is up 19.25% for the week.
Gold has also continued its upward trajectory by pushing to a new high at $1,874 today. To date, gold has gained 29% since the coronavirus-driven market correction occurred in mid-March.
The S&P 500 and Dow also continue to push a bit higher each day, further proof that investors expect that the Federal Reserve and central banks across the world will continue to roll out stimulus.
As mentioned earlier, expansionary monetary policies are clearly boosting investor confidence in the markets regardless of whatever weaknesses analysts might spot in the economy.
Remember, as the age-old saying dictates: The stock market is not the economy.
Bitcoin daily price chart. Source: Coin360
Now that Bitcoin price has managed to close the day above $9,500 investors will watch to see if a higher high above $9,775 can be achieved, after which a shot at the $9,900-$10,000 level comes into play.
Altcoins also posted moderate gains as the Bitcoin price pushed higher at the start of this week.
Ether (ETH) rallied by nearly 12%, XRP gained 2.88%, and Litecoin (LTC) added 2.86%.
According to CoinMarketCap, the overall cryptocurrency market cap now stands at $284.7 billion and Bitcoin’s dominance rate is 61.7%.