WEEKLY ANALYSIS - No Fireworks for Bitcoin and Altcoins After Fed Decision

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies continue to trade in a narrow range, unaffected by the US interest rate increase and macroeconomic data.

The crypto market has been calm in the past week, as neither the US Federal Reserve’s decision to raise interest rates nor the release of various economic indicators could spark any significant volatility. Bitcoin and most altcoins remained stuck in a tight trading range, with no clear direction or momentum, as the crypto market is still waiting for a catalyst that could trigger a major move in either direction.

Bitcoin (BTC) failed to break out of the $30,000 resistance level and has been trading below it for a full week. The BTC/USD pair fluctuated between $29,045.90 and $29,614.70 over the week, with only minor moves up and down. The weekly close was at -1.4%, indicating a lack of bullish or bearish pressure. The monthly close, which is due today, is expected to see BTC/USD record a 3.6% loss, unless a sudden rally or dump occurs. At the time of writing, the Bitcoin price is $29,355.61, up 0.2% in the last 24 hours. The market capitalization of Bitcoin is $570.6 billion, accounting for 48.2% of the total crypto market cap of $1.18 trillion. Bitcoin has gained 77.74% since the beginning of the year, but has lost more than 50% from its all-time high of $64,863.10 in April.

Ethereum (ETH) performed slightly better than Bitcoin, but still ended the week in the red. The ETH/USD pair dropped 0.3% week-on-week, trading between $1,842.11 and $1,883.69. Ethereum is facing strong resistance at the $2,000 level, which it has not breached since June 18. At the time of writing, the Ethereum price is $1,865.23, down 0.3% in the last 24 hours. The market capitalization of Ethereum is $216.9 billion, representing 18.4% of the total crypto market cap. Ethereum has surged 210.62% since the start of the year, but has also fallen more than 50% from its record high of $4,362.35 in May.

The rest of the crypto market showed mixed results, with some altcoins outperforming Bitcoin and Ethereum, while others lagged behind. Dogecoin (DOGE), the meme-inspired cryptocurrency that has been boosted by Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s tweets and endorsements, rose 5% week-on-week, recovering from a sharp drop on June 22. Its rival meme coin Shiba Inu (SHIB) also gained 5%, following a similar pattern. Other altcoins that posted positive returns in the past week include Litecoin (LTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and Stellar (XLM), which all added low single digits compared to Bitcoin’s 1.4% decline. However, these coins are still far from their respective highs and face strong resistance levels ahead.

The total crypto market cap is currently $1.18 trillion, up 0.02% from yesterday. The total crypto market volume in the last 24 hours is $27.62 billion, up 55.43%. The total volume in decentralized finance (DeFi) is $2.66 billion, or 9.61% of the total crypto market volume. The volume of all stablecoins is $24.29 billion, or 87.94% of the total crypto market volume.