Pro-BTC Shift

Bitcoin prices are in focus today after the futures market yesterday surged to its highest level in over a month. BTC jumped almost 10% on the day, triggering more than $500 million in short liquidations as traders reacted to news of Kevin Warsh’s selection as the replacement for outgoing Fed chair Jerome Powell. Warsh is known to be pro-Bitcoin and has praised cryptocurrencies in general, boosting traders’ hopes of fresh support for the ailing crypto market following the sell off from last year’s highs. This view is being reinforced by the recent moves we’ve seen from regulators with the CFTC filing a regulatory review and the Securities and Exchange Commission filing a pending application for a review of how Federal Securities laws govern crypto. These moves reflect a continued push by regulators to structure a bull around crypto, which is seen as likely to help support the sector.

ETF Inflows… Finally

A shift in institutional flows is also offering hope for Bitcoin bulls this week. The latest ETF data shows total inflows of more than $450 million last week, bringing the week’s total to over $1 billion so far. Notably, this marks an end to the 5-week streak of outflows seen previously. If this marks a bottom in ETF sentiment, BTC could well be poised for a broader recovery here. News of a fresh purchase from Strategy this week of more than $200 million BTC is reinforcing the view that the recent floor could hold and mark the start of a fresh push higher, a view shared by JP Morgan in a recent research note.

Technical Views

BTC

The rally in BTC has seen the market breaking back above the $69,605 level, correcting higher within the bull channel. Focus is now on a test of the $80,185 level and bear channel highs. This is a big resistance zone for the market which, if broken, will signal a firmer bullish shift and turn focus to $94,500 above.