ADA, SOL and MATIC, the tokens of smart contracts platforms, Cardano, Solana and Polygon, were all recently off more than 2.5%. And UNI, the native crypto of decentralized exchange Uniswap, continued its downward momentum to fall more than 1.3%.

Ether, the second largest crypto by market capitalization was changing hands at $1,843, off 1.3%. Other major cryptos, which spent much of Wednesday in the red, moved more deeply into negative territory. And Litecoin (LTC) recently plunged more than 5%, despite the token’s anticipated halving event, which cut miners rewards in half, curbing the issuance of new tokens. Decentralized exchange Uniswap’s UNI token was off more than 7.5%, while SOL and ADA, the native cryptos of the smart contracts platforms Solana and Cardano, were down more than 2.5%.

“We’re seeing a multitude of influential factors at play, which includes corporate investments, regulatory advancements, macroeconomic shifts, and potential for increased accessibility through financial products like ETFs,” Feng wrote. “MicroStrategy’s continued investment in Bitcoin certainly underscores their commitment, helping solidify corporate interest in digital assets. This, in tandem with anticipation around the upcoming Bitcoin halving event, is influencing market behavior, as traders often view such milestones as potential catalysts.”

Ether (ETH), the second largest crypto in market value, was recently changing hands at $1,850, off 0.3% from Tuesday same time. SOL and ADA, the tokens of smart contracts platforms Solana and Cardano, were a few fractions of a percentage point in the red, while Ripple’s XRP was up slightly, despite a court ruling casting doubt on its partial legal win against the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) last month.

Bitcoin was recently outperforming Ether, the second largest crypto in market value, and other major altcoins by market capitalization. ETH was changing hands at $1,853, down 0.5% from Sunday, same time. SOL, TRX and MATIC, the tokens of smart contract platforms, Solana, Tron and Polygon, were recently off 1.8%, 2.3% and 2.2%, respectively.

Investors will be looking for continued signs of a cooling employment market and slowing growth, which would suggest inflation is waning and possibly buoy risk-on asset markets, although cryptos have been largely immune from significant macroeconomic events. Hot jobs data, which typically accompanies rising prices, has been a particular concern for the U.S. central bank, which raised the interest rate 25 basis points (bps) last Wednesday.

ETH was recently changing hands at $1,857, off 1.2% from Sunday.  Ether has been narrowly range-bound over the past seven days between $1,840 and $1,890. SOL and MATIC, the token of the smart contracts Solana and Polygon platforms, were recently off 4.5% and 4.2%, respectively, over the past 24 hours. Popular memecoin DOGE off 3.7%, respectively. The broader CoinDesk Market Index (CMI) recently moved 0.9% lower for the day.

Umee’s Xu noted that trading volumes are “relatively low” and retail investors are not flocking to the space. “Traders and investors probably need to be preparing for several months of boring market actions, with periods of short-lived rallies that revert back to something of a mean,” he wrote, adding that he does not expect a dramatic rally until next year’s halving, which could coincide with rate cuts. “Cuts could If there’s some breakage that takes place, such as a credit crunch or acceleration of the banking crisis.”

“We can afford to be a little patient, as well as resolute, as we let this unfold,” Fed Chair Jerome Powell said in a press conference Wednesday. “We think we’re going to need to hold, certainly, policy at restrictive levels for some time, and we’d be prepared to raise further if we think that’s appropriate.”

Crypto markets have been curiously resistant to the latest macroeconomic utterances. With a few blips, bitcoin has been trading in a range between $29,000 and $31,500 for much of the past two months. It was recently changing hands at $29,100, down more than 3% over the past 24 hours. “It will take a fresh catalyst to excite Bitcoin traders,” Edward Moya, senior market analyst at foreign exchange market maker Oanda wrote in a Monday note.

ADA and SOL, the native cryptos of smart contracts platforms Cardano and Solana, rose over 6% at certain points, far outstripping bitcoin and ether, which slogged through another dispiriting day of little price movement. Bitcoin was recently trading at $28,877, roughly flat over the previous day. Ether had edged down the better part of a percentage point to trade just below $1,900.

The earnings season for big banks started largely favorably last week with JPMorgan Chase net income and revenue surging 67% and 34%, respectively. This week, Bank of America (BAC), Morgan Stanley (MS), Charles Schwab (SCHW), PNC Financial Services (PNC), and Bank of New York Mellon (BK) will report on Tuesday, while Goldman Sachs (GS) will report the following day.

Massad and Clayton’s recommendations come at a potentially pivotal time in crypto’s brief history, and amid an ongoing jurisdictional feud between the CFTC, which considers crypto a commodity and the SEC, which sees it as a security. Both agencies have filed multiple legal actions against exchanges and other key crypto organizations, testing the applicability of current regulations but leaving investors and entrepreneurs deeply unsettled about crypto’s future in the U.S., which has largely spearheaded global interest in the space. Last month, the SEC sued Binance and Coinbase, saying the exchanges had violated securities laws by, among other things, offering unregistered securities.

On Wednesday, observers of U.S. monetary policy will eye the Labor Department’s release of the June CPI. The CPI has edged steadily downward since last year’s high. Economists’ consensus see June’s index dipping in the mid 3% range, although Edward Moya, senior market analyst at foreign exchange market maker Oanda, wrote in a Monday note that it could tumble to 2.8%. Yet Moya also noted that core inflation, which excludes more volatile food and energy costs, could remain hot, a result of an expensive housing market. “Pricing pressures might remain throughout the summer,” Moya wrote.

Ether was recently changing hands at about $1,890, up 1.8% from Sunday, same time. Other major cryptos turned from red to increase or jumped more squarely into positive territory with MATIC and ADA, the tokens of the smart contracts platforms Polygon and Cardano, rising more than 6% and 2%, respectively. BNB, the native crypto of the Binance exchange recently rose over 4%.

Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, was recently trading at $30,374, a 1% gain from Wednesday, same time. BTC has been on a roller coaster ride the past couple of days, albeit the kiddie version, rising above $31,000 briefly on Tuesday after a news story that Fidelity Investments would join BlackRock in the queue of financial services giants applying for spot bitcoin ETFs, but sinking below $30,000 on Wednesday as investors paused to consider the timing of an SEC approval and inflationary pressures.

The market remains optimistic about the future of a spot bitcoin ETF in the U.S., as bitcoin (BTC) maintains the key $30,000 level. Quinn Thompson, Maple head of growth and capital markets, shared his crypto markets analysis. Plus, Hut 8 CEO Jaime Leverton joined “First Mover” after the North American digital asset miner secured up to $50 million in loans from Coinbase Credit to fund its operations. And, RockX founder and CEO Zhuling Chen explained why Singapore nabbed second place in CoinDesk’s Crypto Hub 2023 rankings.

Meanwhile, bitcoin’s price as the market approaches Friday’s expiry of bitcoin options contracts could fuel an additional price increase, or send it spiraling in the immediate aftermath. “If bitcoin builds momentum above $30,000 as expiry approaches, dealers will buy the cryptocurrency in the spot and futures markets,” CoinDesk Co-Managing Editor of Markets Omkar Godbole wrote. “That, in turn, could lead to an exaggerated price rally, often called a gamma squeeze, or sling-shot effect. On the flip side, dealers will be forced to sell on a potential decline below $30,000.”

Ether, the second largest crypto in market value, followed a similar path to BTC, dipping around the time of the BitGo announcement via Twitter but then regaining ground to recently change hands near the $1,900 threshold it reached on Wednesday for the first time since the beginning of June. ETH was recently up a few fractions of a percentage point. Most other major cryptos were largely in the green, albeit not as impressively as the previous day. ADA and DOT, the tokens of smart contract protocols Cardano and Polkadot, were up more than 2% and 1%, respectively.

Bitcoin (BTC), the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market value, rallied over the past 24 hours after various traditional finance firms announced moves into the crypto market, indicating bullish sentiment. eToro US investment analyst Callie Cox shared her crypto markets analysis. Plus, Lindsey Grossman, the business lead at Bitkey, Block’s bitcoin wallet, joined “First Mover” to discuss teaming up with Coinbase and Cash App, along with the launch of Bitkey’s external beta sign-ups. And, Axelar CEO and co-founder Sergey Gorbunov shared his reaction to the Uniswap Foundation’s recent bridge assessment report.

Other major cryptocurrencies, including those that tumbled following their mention in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) lawsuits against exchanges Binance and Coinbase last week, regained large swathes of ground. SOL, the token of the Solana blockchain, was recently up more than 7%. ADA, MATIC and ALGO, the native cryptocurrencies of smart contract platforms Cardano, Polygon and Algorand, rose 3.5%, 3% and 4.1%, respectively.

To be named the iShares Bitcoin Trust, the fund’s assets are to “consist primarily of bitcoin held by a custodian on behalf of the Trust,” according to the filing. That custodian will by crypto exchange Coinbase (COIN), said the filing.

Ether, the second largest crypto in market value, was similarly sluggish to recently change hands at about $1,655, also about flat from Wednesday, same time. Similar to BTC, ETH hit a three-month low on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Tether’s USDT stablecoin deviated from its $1 dollar peg early Thursday (ET) amid a sell-off on the popular Uniswap and Curve pools. USDT dropped as low as $0.9968, according to CoinMarketCap data. The token was recently trading at $0.999.

Suarez, who touted bitcoin’s “democratizing impact on the future of wealth for every American” in a 2021 interview with CoinDesk, has examined ways to accept taxes and pay municipal employees in the currency. He also announced MiamiCoin (MIA), built on the Bitcoin adjacent blockchain, Stacks, which he hoped could someday pay a recurring BTC stimulus to Miami citizens.

Still, indicator was pointing bullishly. A price pattern called “throwback” has emerged on bitcoin’s daily chart that could recharge bulls’ engines for a rally toward $37,000, according to Valkyrie Investments. In technical analysis, a throwback is a price drop to a former breakout level or resistance-turned-support. After a breakout, prices rally for some days before losing upward momentum and returning to the breakout point. More often than not, prices surge after the throwback is completed, Thomas Bulkowski detailed in his book “Visual Guide to Chart Patterns.”

Ether, the second largest crypto by market value, followed BTC’s lead, rising initially before returning some of its gains. ETH was recently changing hands at about $1,735, roughly where it stood on Monday, same time. Among the 19 tokens mentioned in either the Binance or Coinbase suits, or both, ALG AND MATIC, the tokens of the Polygon and Algorand smart contracts blockchains, were recently up 0.3% and 0.8%, while AXIE, the native crypto of gaming platform Axie Infinity, fell slightly. Binance’s BNB token recently increased 3.3%. The CoinDesk Market Index, a measure of the market’s overall performance, was up 0.3%.