New data from Kaiko on July 11 indicates that the correlation between Bitcoin and the Nasdaq Composite Index is at a two-year low. The correlation coefficient between these two assets dropped to less than 1% in early July.

At this level, it is at July 2021 lows. The NASDAQ Composite Index tracks the performance of all stocks listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange. Among stocks listed on this bourse include Coinbase’s COIN.

Dropping Correlation Between Bitcoin And NASDAQ

A correlation coefficient of around 0% signifies a weak negative relationship between Bitcoin and the NASDAQ. This implies that Bitcoin prices moved in the opposite direction or are unrelated to the NASDAQ Composite Index action. 

As of July 10, Bitcoin prices were relatively firm, oscillating around the $30,000 level and generally in an uptrend looking at price performance in Q2 2023. For context, Bitcoin is less than $2,000 away from 2023 highs of $31,400 registered in June 2023.

Meanwhile, market data shows that the NASDAQ Composite Index is also at multi-month highs and firm, reflecting the broader market recovery in the United States.

The dwindling correlation between Bitcoin and the NASDAQ may be attributed to several factors. One potential explanation is that investors are becoming more discerning in their investment choices.

As the cryptocurrency market matures and regulations are drafted, investors might seek assets with low correlation with traditional finance instruments like stocks and indices.

The other reason could stem from the recent action of the cryptocurrency market. In 2022, cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, fell from highs registered in 2021. After peaking at over $69,000, Bitcoin prices crashed in 2022.

This was fast-tracked by the solvency of several centralized finance platforms offering crypto services, including Celsius. The collapse of FTX, a popular cryptocurrency exchange, forced prices even low. In November 2022, BTC prices crashed below $16,000. 

Like crypto assets, technology stocks like COIN listed on NASDAQ are relatively volatile and were also impacted by rising interest rates in 2021. Subsequently, the dump in asset prices might have forced investors to be more risk-averse and diversify their holdings, forcing the correlation between NASDAQ and Bitcoin even lower. 

Watching The US Federal Reserve

Whether this correlation will fall in the months ahead remains to be seen. However, at the moment, the cryptocurrency market seems fragile. Bitcoin bulls have failed to break above June 2023 highs in continuation of bullish pressure in the past few weeks. 

At the same time, market participants closely track how the United States Federal Reserve will proceed with its monetary policy. 

After steadily increasing interest rates to tame rising inflation, the central bank paused rate hikes in Q2 2023. Whether they will slash rates in the coming months remains to be seen.

Bitcoin (BTC) has been consolidating below the mid-point of the 2021-22 cycle at $30,000, with some on-chain activity metrics cooling off while others, such as money transfer volumes, are picking up. This suggests positive momentum and growing adoption for the asset, according to a recent report from Glassnode.

Bitcoin Metrics Suggest A Wild Ride Ahead

The report highlights that BTC’s recovery in 2023 has been remarkably robust in terms of price performance and network utilization, indicating strong underlying demand for the asset.

Active address momentum is climbing again, indicating a healthy network and growing adoption of Bitcoin. The balance of supply held in profit vs. loss has reached an equilibrium point, synonymous with the several months-long ‘re-accumulation period’ in past cycles.

Moreover, the report suggests that BTC volumes being transferred are starting to pick up meaningfully. BTC changing hands, lifting 75% off the FTX lows, now reaching $4.2 billion per day in total settlement. This is a positive sign for the Bitcoin network, indicating a return toward the dominance of BTC monetary transfers.

The report also provides a chart demonstrating a significant supply cluster between $15,000 and $30,000, indicating that many coins changed hands over the last 12 months.

Conversely, just 25% of the supply was acquired at prices above $30,000, held by buyers from the 2021-22 cycle.

Furthermore, the Long and Short-Term heuristic shows that a sizeable volume of long-term holders (LTH) supply was acquired between $15,000 and $25,000 and remains unspent, despite prices reaching $31,000. Additionally, almost all coins with an acquisition price above $30,000 are held by LTHs, who are likely to create resistance should the market rally higher.

Moreover, the report further highlights that the price range between $20,000 and $30,000 has seen expanding accumulation since February, despite regulatory pressure in the US. This supply distribution is quite ‘bottom-heavy,’ suggesting a relatively firm foundation of investor holdings exists below $30,000.

BTC’s Independence From Altcoins On The Rise

Bitcoin’s correlation with altcoins has declined in the first half of 2023, according to a report by Kaiko, a cryptocurrency market data provider.

The report shows that altcoins have been hit hard by rising regulatory uncertainty in the US, with several exchanges delisting major altcoins over the past few weeks. In contrast, Bitcoin has shown resilience, attracting institutional inflows and benefiting from regulatory clarity around its status as a commodity.

The report highlights that Bitcoin’s correlation with other major cryptocurrencies, such as Ethereum, Litecoin, and Bitcoin Cash, has declined significantly since last year.

The decline in correlation is a sign that Bitcoin is becoming less influenced by the movements of other cryptocurrencies, indicating that it is starting to establish itself as a more independent asset.

XRP saw the strongest decrease in correlation, which is linked to the token’s rising volatility as the outcome of the SEC vs. Ripple lawsuit edges closer. The report indicates that XRP’s volatility has increased significantly in recent months, leading to a sharp decline in its correlation with other cryptocurrencies.

The report suggests that Bitcoin’s resilience in the face of regulatory uncertainty is largely due to its status as a commodity, which has been confirmed by regulatory bodies such as the Commodity and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

On BTC’s one-day chart, the largest cryptocurrency in the market is currently trading at $30,500, reflecting a 0.9% increase over the past 24 hours.

Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView.com

In the past week, Stellar (XLM) experienced a decline in price, moving from $0.1 to $0.096. This represents a decrease of -13.42% in value. Furthermore, in the past 24 hours, XLM recorded a minor drop of -0.61%. These price movements indicate a slight bearish sentiment prevailing in the crypto market, with XLM being influenced by the broader market conditions. The recent downtrend in XLM’s price suggests that bears currently have the upper hand, while the scope for bullish activity appears limited.

What Could Be Responsible For The Recent Price Dip?

The Stellar ecosystem has been rife with developments in recent months, with the biggest being the launch of the Spacewalk bridge that connects the blockchain to Polkadot. The bridge was meant to enable smooth transfer of the USDC stablecoin between the two blockchains fostering increased utility and potential demand within Stellar’s ecosystem.

However, this has not gone to plan, as Stellar’s price has failed to match the positive advancements in its ecosystem. Instead, bearish sentiment has engulfed XLM, which has contributed to the recent downward price movement.

The bearish sentiment indicates that market participants are cautious about XLM, leading to selling pressure and a lack of significant buying interest. It is important to consider the impact of market sentiment on short-term price fluctuations, as it can create challenges for price recovery and limit the potential for bullish momentum in the near term.

What’s Next For Stellar (XLM)?

Although XLM is currently experiencing a bearish sentiment, the long-term prospects for the cryptocurrency remain positive. Stellar’s roadmap for 2023 focuses on enhancing network utility through strategic initiatives. This includes making innovation easy and scalable through Soroban development, scaling and decentralization endeavors, and improving developer wallet tools. Stellar aims to win over builders by accelerating the growth of widely-used assets, promoting accessibility and user-friendly apps, and leveraging smart contracts for sustainable use cases in the DeFi ecosystem.

Furthermore, Stellar’s focus on utility and building trust involves engaging in public policy, raising platform awareness, and maintaining high-quality wallet products. These initiatives are designed to strengthen Stellar’s position in the market and drive future growth. While short-term price movements may be influenced by market sentiment, the long-term success of Stellar relies on the execution of its strategic initiatives and the adoption of its network utility.

As a result, XLM’s value could potentially increase in the future, with projections indicating the possibility of reaching $0.11 by 2024. Investors and traders should closely monitor the progress of Stellar’s roadmap and evaluate market conditions when considering the future prospects of XLM. At press time, XLM was trading at $0.09691 per coin with a 1-hour price increase of 1.1%.

(This site’s content should not be construed as investment advice. Investing involves risk. When you invest, your capital is subject to risk).

Featured Image from iStock, chart from TradingView

Matrixport, a crypto financial services platform, has always been bullish on Bitcoin, especially in 2023. So its latest prediction for the digital asset comes as no surprise to investors. This time around, Matrixport analysts have predicted that the price of BTC will push forward to as high as $125,000 by the end of 2024.

A 310% Increase For Bitcoin?

The current forecast by Matrixport analysts for Bitcoin will see the cryptocurrency rally as high as 310% if it does come to pass. This prediction, however, was not just thrown around without expected catalysts that would trigger such a rally, which is outlined in the report.

For BTC to reach as high as $125,000 by the end of 2024, Matrixport expects that the potential approval of the Bitcoin Spot ETFs filed by investing giants such as BlackRock and Fidelity Investments, among others, could be the push it needs.

2024 is important for these Bitcoin Spot ETF filings because the final date for a decision from the United States Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC) is in 2024. This is because the SEC gets three opportunities to postpone its decision, which it likely will. So a decision on whether or not investors will be able to trade a Spot BTC ETF is expected in February 2024 at the latest, as outlined in this Bitcoinist report.

“With the potential approval of the BlackRock Bitcoin ETF and other institutional providers, the demand for Bitcoin could continue to support prices into our $45,000 year-end target,” Matrixport says in the report. “There is no obvious indication of what will drive the next bull market, but the data indicates that Bitcoin could continue to rally into the 2024 halving.”

BTC

Multiple Bullish Catalysts For BTC In 2024

As Matrixport mentions in its report, the Bitcoin Spot ETF filings are not the only bullish events that could drive a bull market in 2024. Another important event is the BTC halving event which is less than a year away now. This event will see the block rewards for the blockchain cut down in half from 6.25 BTC per mined block to 3.125 BTC per mined block.

Next BTC halving is less than a year away | Source: Binance

This decrease in the rate at which new BTC is being brought into circulation, coupled with the fact that the digital asset possesses a very limited supply, has always triggered each bull market. So even if expectations for the Spot ETFs do not play out and the SEC does reject the filings, it will likely only be a short-lived bearish momentum as the halving will take place only a few months after.

Going by historical performance, the BTC price has been known to rise more than 100% as expectations around the halving event grow. Given this, it is possible that BTC does reach a price of $125,000 by the end of 2024, according to the Matrixport report.

Institutional interest in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin has been increasing in the past few months, with mainstream interest in the cryptocurrency industry. As a result, the largest crypto, Bitcoin, exploded in the first half of 2023, as its trading volume on various exchanges crossed $4.2 trillion.

Bitcoin Sees Highest Trading Volume In March

According to data from bitcoinity.org, BTC trading volume on exchanges during this whole first half of the year eventually exceeded $4.2 trillion, with March recording the highest monthly BTC trading volume of $1.2 trillion.

Last year was a tough year for Bitcoin, which was mirrored by the rest of the cryptocurrency industry, as it appeared to be caught in a bear market season. Market analysts had initially projected a further decline for BTC, however, the price started to rebound in April this year, crossing $30,000 for the first time this year.

This was Bitcoin’s first highest price in 12 months, signaling renewed vigor in the bullish market. Although this bullish sentiment was a little short-lived, with BTC dipping back down to $28,000. Statistics show that Bitcoin trading volume went back down to $492.9 billion during this period,

However, things started to change in June, as news came out that several investment companies like BlackRock, Fidelity, and Invesco were filing Bitcoin spot ETF applications with the SEC. This sparked hope that mainstream investors will soon gain access to Bitcoin exposure, propelling the price of BTC back over $30,000 in late June and a 13-month high of $31,500 in July.

BTC price holding above $30,000 | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com

Volatility And Price Action: What To Expect In H2 2023

The second half of 2023 is expected to be a wild ride in the world of crypto and Bitcoin. With BTC volumes crossing $4.2 trillion in the first half of 2023, it’s clear that mainstream interest in the cryptocurrency is surging. While investment companies like BlackRock have updated their filings with the SEC for spot Bitcoin EFTs, investors wait to see what comes next. If approved, spot Bitcoin ETFs will be a major turning point for the crypto, as Bitcoin currently holds 49% dominance in the industry.

Bitcoin’s price has already increased by more than 50% since the beginning of the year and is presently trading at over $30,300 following the news of the ETF filings.

According to data from the on-chain analytics firm Glassnode, the 1+ years old supply HODLers of BTC is now at a new all-time high of 13.4 million BTC as more investors opt to hold for the long-term.

Also, as expectations around the ETFs rise, prices are expected to rise. If this happens, this will lead to increased participation from investors, translating to possibly higher trading volumes for Bitcoin.

Shiba Inu is one of the meme coins that has managed to maintain its popularity in the crypto market as its community remains committed to reducing the circulating supply of the asset. To this end, there has been a significant increase in the SHIB burn rate recorded over the last 24 hours. However, the SHIB price has had a hard time keeping up with this burn rate.

SHIB Burn Rate Jumps 540%

According to the Shiba Inu burn tracking website, Shibburn, the SHIB burn rate saw a tremendous burn over the last 24 hours. In total, over 78 million tokens were burned, accounting for a 542% increase in burn rate compared to the previous day.

HOURLY SHIB UPDATE$SHIB Price: $0.00000776 (1hr 0.22% ▲ | 24hr 1.32% ▲ )
Market Cap: $4,579,871,751 (1.35% ▲)
Total Supply: 589,349,600,558,222

TOKENS BURNT
Past 24Hrs: 78,248,958 (546.18% ▲)
Past 7 Days: 233,385,451 (-78.87% ▼)

— Shibburn (@shibburn) July 4, 2023

Now, it is important to keep in mind that this burn rate is notable because it follows multiple days of low burn rates. In fact, the meme coin opened the new week with a drastic decline in burn rate. Shibburn data shows that over the last seven days, the SHIB burn rate is down 78.87%.

This indicates a return in positive momentum for the burn rate, which is helping to permanently remove tokens from circulation. Additionally, it also shows that Shiba Inu investors are getting more positive about burning tokens, which could work to help the price recover.

SHIB price down over 90% from ATH | Source: SHIBUSD on TradingView.com

Shiba Inu Price Fails To Follow Burn Rate

Despite the rapid rise in the Shiba Inu burn rate over the last day, the price of the digital asset has not responded in kind. SHIB is still lagging behind, recording losses even at a time when digital assets such as Bitcoin and Ethereum are back on the rise.

SHIB is now one of the worst-performing coins when comparing its present price to its all-time high. The meme coin is now almost 91% down from its all-time high price back in 2021 with the vast majority of investors nursing losses on their holdings.

However, the cryptocurrency is performing well compared to its cycle low. After hitting its lowest point this cycle back on June 10, it is 34% up from that level, although this barely makes a dent in the losses of its investors.

At the time of this writing, SHIB is changing hands at a price of $0.0000076, according to data from Coinmarketcap. Its market cap has declined rapidly this year, pushing it down to $4.52 billion, making it the 19th-largest cryptocurrency in the space. SHIB’s daily trade volume is currently sitting at $115 million, a 3.24% from the previous day’s figures.

Last week, the likes of Ethereum in the crypto market were shaken when the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC0 revealed that it found the Bitcoin Spot ETF filings of giants such as BlackRock and Fidelity, among others, inadequate. This news saw the price of cryptocurrencies declines rapidly. But as the new week opens, investors have shaken off the effect of the announcement and bulls have begun to take over.

Ethereum Sets Sight On $2,000 Level

Ethereum’s recovery following the SEC announcement has been encouraging for investors, leading to a return of positive sentiment around the digital asset. Following this, ETH is now looking toward the $2,000 level despite the bears currently mounting significant resistance at this point.

The digital asset has already reclaimed the $1,950 resistance which is now serving as support. As a result, this could provide the much-needed bounce-off point as the cryptocurrency attempts another rally. Such a rally from here could easily see ETH re-take $2,000 once more.

Fortunately, Ethereum continues to trade well above its 50-day and 100-day moving averages, both of which have helped the digital asset to solidify its bull momentum for the short term. As long as buyers continue to dominate the market, the break above $2,000 is programmed and will likely be achieved before the week runs out.

ETH sitting close to $2,000 | Source: ETHUSD on TradingView.com

Factors That Could Propel ETH Forward

One thing that could serve as a catalyst for a rally toward $2,500 for Ethereum would be approval from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The Spot ETF filings that have been made by the likes of BlackRock and Fidelity have already propelled the market forward. But this is only a fraction of what is possible if one or more of the ETFs are approved.

Such approval will likely see billions of dollars from institutional investors flow into the market as they rush to take advantage and gain exposure to assets such as Bitcoin. And as seen before, it would not be long until an Ethereum Spot ETF follows.

If this happens, then it could not only trigger a rally toward $2,500 for Ethereum. But it could be just the catalyst that the market needs to enter another bull season. Furthermore, an approval coinciding with the Bitcoin halving next year would see prices rise rapidly.

For now, ETH is still maintaining its position, trading at a price of $1,967. This accounts for a 2.68% increase in the last day and a 3.88% increase in the last week.

The recent surge in Litecoin (LTC) price propelled it to reach a significant psychological level of $100. This upward movement has provided a bullish boost and allowed the altcoin to register gains in recent trading sessions.

However, despite this bullishness, the price of LTC remains within bearish territory, indicating ongoing downward pressure. Reclaiming the $100 price mark is crucial for sustaining a bullish trend.

In the past 24 hours, LTC has experienced a rally of nearly 17%. On the weekly chart, the altcoin has maintained double-digit gains, reflecting its positive performance over a longer period.

It’s worth noting that Litecoin’s halving event is just a little over a month away. Historically, the price of the asset tends to increase before this event.

However, due to the fluctuating nature of Bitcoin, which often influences major altcoins, LTC might experience slight depreciation.

Significant depreciation is less likely as long as LTC maintains its price above the local support level. A sustained increase in demand for the altcoin is necessary to ensure continued gains on the daily chart. The market capitalization of LTC has also increased, indicating bullish momentum in the market.

Litecoin Price Analysis: One-Day Chart

When writing, Litecoin (LTC) was trading at $97.81. After reaching the $100 mark, LTC has been steadily gaining in price. However, despite the bullish momentum, Litecoin remains within a crucial zone that is bearish and could potentially reverse the gains.

This bearish zone, indicated in red, extends from $94 to $103. In previous trading sessions, LTC has retraced when attempting to revisit the $103 level. The $94 mark has also been a reversal point over the past few months.

Moreover, Litecoin entered the excess selling zone the maximum number of times, where the price fluctuated between the two (upper and lower) bands of the bearish region.

The overhead resistance levels are $100 and $103. In case of a decline from these levels, the price could drop to $94 initially, followed by a potential further decline to $90.

Technical Analysis

Regarding demand, Litecoin (LTC) was approaching overbought conditions. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) was above the 60 mark, indicating buyers had gained market control. This suggests a higher demand for LTC compared to selling pressure.

The increased demand was also reflected in the price, as it climbed above the 20-Simple Moving Average (SMA) line. This signifies that buyers were driving the price momentum in the market, pushing it higher.

As long as Litecoin (LTC) maintains its price above the 20-Simple Moving Average (SMA), indicated by the red line on the chart, specifically around the $87 level, the bullish sentiment is expected to persist.

Litecoin (LTC) formed a strong buy signal in line with increased demand. The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) indicator showed a green histogram, indicating a fresh buy signal. This suggests a strong bullish momentum and strength in the LTC market.

Furthermore, the Chaikin Money Flow (CMF) indicator displayed capital inflows outweighing outflows. The indicator was above the half-line, indicating more capital inflows than outflows at the given time.