BTC hit a new all-time high! It didn’t last long, however. Bitcoin’s (BTC) price hit another all-time high at $69,000, while Ether (ETH) continued its long slog toward $5,000 after reaching a new high at $4,868 earlier on Wednesday. Shortly after hitting this fresh milestone, however, traders began taking profit, leading to a nearly $7,000 drop, which plunged BTC’s price below $63,000.
Interestingly, the breakout was initiated right as a report from the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) showed a sharp 6.2% annual rise in the Consumer Price Index (CPI), a figure that has hit its highest mark in 30 years.
According to the BLS, rising energy costs fueled a rise in CPI, but for at least six months, analysts have tracked the rising costs of food and other goods. The current CPI is the highest it has been since October 1990. Core inflation, a figure that ignores the impact of the rising cost of goods, showed a 4.6% increase, a level not seen since 1991. Amid rising inflation, the Federal Reserve and the Biden administration continue to message that the situation is “under control,” but equities markets reacted negatively to the news.
Despite the concerning news and slight pullback in traditional markets, BTC and ETH prices rose, a dynamic that analysts such as Anthony Pompliano refer to as “asymmetric price action” where investors see a red hot stock market and unsustainable central bank monetary policymaking risk-on assets like Bitcoin as attractive investments and hedges against gold, the dollar and inflation. According to Cointelegraph business editor Sam Bourgi, Bitcoin is viewed by many as the best “hard money” alternative to sovereign currencies and:
“Bitcoin has outperformed gold, the most widely regarded inflation hedge, by a considerable margin year-to-date, having gained over 130% compared with gold’s 4% decline.”
Shortly after achieving these astronomical new heights, Bitcoin’s price fell back toward $62,700 before recovering slightly to around $64,500, while most altcoins endured near double-digit losses. Even though the current downside move is sure to shock some investors, slight corrections after reaching new all-time highs are a customary practice for Bitcoin.
From the perspective of technical analysis, profit-taking near all-time highs and the need for a retest of lower support levels are normal processes for most cryptocurrencies. In fact, a quick glance over discussions by many analysts and traders on Twitter shows that most expected BTC to revisit lower support levels at $64,000 and below before recapturing bullish momentum and moving higher. The overall cryptocurrency market capitalization now stands at $2.91 trillion, and Bitcoin’s dominance rate is 41.9%.
