First Mover: Bitcoin Bounces Back to $55K as Yellen Backtracks on Rate Hike Comments

PLUS: Bitcoin Reclaims Support; Approaching Resistance Near $56K-$58K

Everything you need to make sense of the crypto markets and beyond By the CoinDesk Markets Team Edited by Lawrence Lewitinn, Managing Editor, Global Capital Markets May 5, 2021 Sponsored by     Bitcoin (BTC) -1.3%   $55,678 Ether (ETH)  -1.3%   $3,384 (Price data as of May 5 @11:00 UTC) If you were forwarded this newsletter and would like to receive it, sign up here.  Good morning. Here's what we're writing about: Market Moves: Bitcoin Bounces Back to $55K as Yellen Backtracks on Rate Hike Comments   Technician's Take: Bitcoin Reclaims Support; Approaching Resistance Near $56K-$58K   Check out the CoinDesk TV show "First Mover," hosted by Christine Lee, Lawrence Lewitinn and Emily Parker, at 9 a.m. U.S. Eastern time. Today the show will feature guests: Peter Roffman, S&P Dow Jones Indices Managing Director & Global Head of Innovation and Strategy Paul Klanschek, Bitpanda Co-Founder & CEO Jeff Garzik, Bloq Co-Founder Biggest Movers These are the biggest movers in the CoinDesk 20 over the past 24 hours:   Gainers: Chainlink (LINK): +13.3% Bitcoin Cash (BCH): +13.0% EOS (EOS): +8.3% Litecoin (LTC): +7.1%   Losers:  Aave (AAVE): -6.7% Yearn Finance (YFI): -4.7% Algorand (ALGO): -4.0%   The CoinDesk 20 are 20 digital assets filtered from the larger universe of thousands of cryptocurrencies and constitute roughly 99% of the market by volume at eight of the largest and most trustworthy exchanges. Market Moves by Omkar Godbole Bitcoin Bounces Back to $55K as Yellen Backtracks on Rate Hike Comments Bitcoin (BTC) has regained poise on Wednesday after U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen toned down comments suggesting interest rate hikes may be needed to stop the economy from overheating.   "It's not something I'm predicting or recommending," Yellen clarified during an online event hosted by The Wall Street Journal late on Tuesday, downplaying remarks made earlier in the day.   "If anyone appreciates the independence of the Federal Reserve, I think that person is me," Yellen added, according to a Bloomberg report Wednesday.   Bitcoin found a floor near $53,000 after Yellen's clarification and was trading back above $55,400 at press time, representing a nearly 4% gain on the day. Bitcoin daily chart (Source: TradingView) Yellen had originally been discussing the scope for rate hikes in the context of U.S. President Joe Biden's plans for $4 trillion of infrastructure and welfare spending over the next decade.   Looking ahead   While the Fed recently reiterated its commitment to keep the liquidity tap open for a prolonged period, some experts fear the U.S. central bank would ditch its pro-easing bias and turn hawkish later this year.   The U.S. dollar is starting to show signs of life amid a growing debate over whether Biden's massive spending, coupled with a vaccine-led economic recovery, would force the Fed to scale back stimulus earlier than expected.   The Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback's value against major currencies, rose to a 2.5-week high of 91.44 earlier today, extending its recovery from the two-month low of 90.42 reached on April 29, according to data and chart provider TradingView.   A continued rally in the U.S. dollar could yield deeper losses for bitcoin. The two assets have moved mainly in the opposite direction since March 2020, courtesy of the Fed's stimulus measures.   The dollar's recovery rally will likely pick up the pace if the U.S. nonfarm payrolls data, scheduled for release on Friday, blows past expectations, pointing to faster economic recovery.   Read the original story here:  Bitcoin Bounces Back to $55K as Yellen Backtracks on Rate Hike Comments A message from Nexo Your digital assets deserve a savings account in their BEST INTEREST. Leading crypto lender Nexo treats you, your crypto and your fiat to industry-best Crypto & Fiat services, featuring:    * Up to 12% interest on digital assets, paid out daily! * Yields available on BTC, ETH, LTC, BCH, XRP, XLM, EOS, TRX, LINK, BNB, PAXG, USDT, USDC, TUSD, PAX, DAI, HUSD, GBP and EUR. * No minimum or maximum limits on funds deposited, offering infinite opportunities to earn. * #ZeroFees on all transactions. * Military-grade wallet security and top-tier insurance on all custodial assets with SOC 2 Type 2 certified crypto custodian BitGo. Get started at nexo.io Technician's Take by Damanick Dantes Bitcoin Reclaims Support; Approaching Resistance Near $56K-$58K Bitcoin (BTC) is holding support around $55,400 at the time of writing as buyers attempt to erase Tuesday's losses. Resistance is seen around $56,000 and $58,000 where traders have taken profit over the past few months. Hourly bitcoin chart shows support and resistance levels with RSI (Source: TradingView) The relative strength index (RSI) on the hourly chart is not yet overbought which suggests about 2%-3% upside to next resistance. Bitcoin remains in a tight range as a pattern of lower highs on the RSI suggests slowing momentum and continued profit taking on rallies. On the daily chart, support around the 100-day moving average preceded price recoveries on April 25 and on May 4 around $53,000. This suggests selling pressure has been limited as BTC consolidates. For now, bitcoin has retraced roughly 38% of the sell-off from May 3 as the short-term trend improves. Original story found here: Bitcoin Reclaims Support; Approaching Resistance Near $56K-$58K A message from CME Announcing CME Micro Bitcoin Futures (MBT) : Ready for Trading  Tap into the precision of a smaller-sized Bitcoin contract At 1/10 the size of one bitcoin, MBT futures provide an efficient, cost-effective way to fine-tune bitcoin exposure and to enhance your trading strategies. Enjoy the features of Bitcoin futures, but in a smaller size that gives active traders more choices for managing bitcoin price risk. BOLO Be on the look out for these upcoming events: 12:15 UTC (8:15 a.m. ET):  ADP employment report (April). Forecast: 800,000 20:00 UTC (4:00 p.m. ET): PayPal (PYPL) to release results at market close or earlier. Forecast EPS: $1.01 Earnings call is at 5 pm EST and can be heard here. CoinDesk's coverage of the previous quarter can be read here. A message from CoinDesk Unlocked 101 at Consensus by CoinDesk 2021   The countdown is on to Consensus by CoinDesk, our virtual big-tent event this May.   For those who need a primer or to brush up on the fundamentals, we're hosting Unlocked 101, a free educational series designed to give you the tools you need to navigate crypto.   Sessions run May 4–20, covering the basics of Bitcoin, DeFi, scams and hacks and the NFT boom.   Register for Unlocked 101. ICYMI In case you missed it, here's the most recent episode of "First Mover" on CoinDesk TV:   Ether Markets Focus: Why Is the Price Soaring? Ether sets new records, breaking through $3400 and "flipping" bitcoin on options volume. "First Mover" dives into crypto markets analysis with MarketGauge Managing Director Michele Schneider. Also, Nikhilesh De on Coinbase's decision to expand support for the stablecoin tether. And, why did the Decentralized Finance Oracle Umbrella Network migrate from Ethereum to the Binance Smart Chain? We hear from the network's founder, Sam Kim. Introducing CoinDesk Indexes TradeBlock, the leader in providing crypto asset indexes to financial institutions, will now assume the CoinDesk name. Introducing CoinDesk Indexes: the industry standard for institutional-grade digital currency price references with billions of dollars in monthly trading volume quoted against them. Underlying new brand names, TradeBlock's index methodology will continue to adhere to the standards of integrity and reliability that have always differentiated its indexes. Read more about CoinDesk Indexes, the industry standard in crypto benchmarks. Latest Headlines Dogecoin Price Finally Tops 69c, Flips XRP to Become Top-4 Crypto The affable canine-themed cryptocurrency is up an eye-watering 13,611% year-to-date. Crypto Exchange Safello Says Planned IPO is Oversubscribed by 1,240% The Swedish firm is expected to list on Nasdaq First North on May 12. Cardano Staking Goes Live on Kraken Exchange ADA staking was launched on Tuesday, the exchange said. Galaxy Digital to Buy BitGo for About $1.2 Billion in Stock, Cash Galaxy also said it will "undergo a domestication process" on an intended path to U.S. listing later this year. Australian Traders Favor Stocks and Crypto, TradingView Survey Shows Cryptocurrency was beaten to the top investors' choice by stocks, but only by 3%. Eth 2.0 Validators Earn Record $3M as ETH Soars Past $3K ETH hit several new all-time price highs this past week as developers made progress with their plans to expedite the merging of Ethereum and Ethereum 2.0.   CoinDesk Research: Does Bitcoin Have an Energy Problem? Is Bitcoin bad for the environment? This CoinDesk Research report looks at the data behind the most common critiques and shows that, while Bitcoin uses a lot of energy, the mix is evolving toward renewables. Bitcoin also incentivizes investment in clean energy sources, can convert pollution into value, and redistributes wasted power production.  Download the free report.   Disclaimer: The information presented in this message is intended as a news item that provides a brief summary of various events and developments that affect, or that might in the future affect, the value of one or more of the cryptocurrencies described above. The information contained in this message, and any information liked through the items contained herein, is not intended to provide sufficient information to form the basis for an investment decision. The information presented herein is accurate only as of its date, and it was not prepared by a research analyst or other investment professional. 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