Bitcoin has retreated 2% from the record highs reached a day ago and is trading near $66.5K, matching the October highs area. This pullback indicates an attempt to lock in profits after the recent gains and look around. The fact is that the stock market was selling the day before effectively shifted the balance of power to the sellers. The RSI index is pulling back today on the daily candlestick charts, remaining in the area below 70 points. The cryptocurrency fear and greed index has rolled back 9 points to 75, back to its typical values of the last four weeks.
Overall, this reflects a very wary state of crypto buyers if a cautious pullback is seen on early signals of market overheating. Some pressure is also seen in a wide range of popular altcoins.
The total capitalisation of the crypto market has rolled back under $2.9 trillion. Arguably, the crypto market now finds itself at a point where its short-term dynamics may be influenced by stock market sentiment. Yesterday, there was also an increase in selling pressure after record capitalisation levels were updated. The democratisation of access to stock markets and the increasing institutional interest in cryptocurrencies reinforces the thesis that these markets are communicating vessels, and risk appetite is now one for two.
The strength of risk appetite should pass the inflation test today. The Chinese data published this morning has beaten expectations, marking a new, 26-year high in producer price growth. Next on the agenda are statistics from the USA. A further acceleration will raise the question of whether central bankers are really in control of the situation.
The acceleration of price increases will convince us that a new level of turbulence is ahead, which initially promises a significant impact on risky asset prices and a deepening of the corrective pullback. In the longer term, however, distrust of central bank policy is the main driver of cryptocurrency emergence, so its long-term appeal only promises to grow from this.
