Bitcoin is approaching monthly highs and is trying to hit the psychological level of $20,000. Ethereum is rising more rapidly, adding 10% over the past day. At the moment of writing, ETH was trading near $1,500.
Demand for risky assets is steadily rising as more and more evidence of problems in the US economy appear. Despite statements by Fed policymakers and chairman Jerome Powell that the regulator would prioritize maintaining economic growth while fighting inflation, expectations of highly hawkish policy moves decrease. Therefore, demand for risky assets, including cryptocurrencies and altcoins, is moving up.
Despite all this, Daniel Pinto, the president of JP Morgan Chase, said that crypto was "kind of irrelevant in the scheme of things." He also defended the Federal Reserve's hawkish position. "If it causes a slightly deeper recession for a period of time, that is the price we have to pay," Pinto said.
In an interview with CNBC, Daniel Pinto noted that the Federal Reserve was moving in the right direction by adopting an aggressive stance. "That's why when people say, 'the Fed is too hawkish,' I disagree. I think putting inflation back in a box is very important," he added. The president of JP Morgan underlined that the Federal Reserve cannot allow inflation to become entrenched in the economy, and pointed out that shifting to a more dovish policy too early risks repeating the mistakes of the 1970s and 1980s.
Speaking about cryptocurrencies, Pinto did not deny the fact that there has been some progress in institutional adoption of cryptocurrencies. "The reality is, the current form of crypto has become a small asset class that is kind of irrelevant in the scheme of things," he said. "But the technology, the concepts, something is probably going to happen there; just not in its current form," Pinto added.
Despite his views, many major companies and banks are seeing increased interest in crypto and are now ramping up their crypto services. Nasdaq has established a crypto unit, citing increased demand for digital assets among institutional investors. Financial giant State Street has recently stated that it sees elevated demand from institutions. In May, Citi, Wells Fargo, and BNY Mellon invested in crypto firm Talos citing an acceleration in institutional adoption of crypto assets.
On the technical side, Bitcoin's upsurge yesterday is a good sign for those who were concerned about BTC being stuck in a sideways channel and the risk of a slump. The cryptocurrency's rise indicates that demand for risky assets among investors is rising. The key level for BTC is the resistance at $20,540. Bitcoin need to break above it to begin a new uptrend. If it does so, it could surge towards $21,140, but it would have to break through the resistance levels of $21,840 and $22,525 to settle in the area. If BTC ends up under pressure once again, bulls would need to hold onto the support at $20,000. A breakout below this level would quickly push the instrument down towards the low at $19,360, opening the way towards $18,700.
Ethereum has recovered significantly, and now bullish traders are focusing on breaking through the closest resistance level of $1,510. If ETH settles above this level, it would stabilize the situation in the market and could potentially extend the bullish trend, allowing Ethereum to test the high at $1,588. From there, the next targets would be $1,645 and $1,707. If ETH comes under renewed pressure and slides down, the level of $1,444, which has formed recently, would provide it support. A breakout below this level would push Ethereum towards the lows at $1,390 and $1,333, and if ETH returns to $1,264, it would lose its upside potential completely.
