Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies were mixed early Monday. The sector is still being weighed down by fears of a selloff despite hopes of looser U.S. monetary policy.
Bitcoin rose 0.1% to $57,742 over the past 24 hours.
The largest cryptocurrency briefly rallied above $58,000 over the weekend, following Friday’s payroll report, which signaled the U.S. labor market is cooling—potentially pushing the Federal Reserve officials to cut interest rates as early as September. However, Bitcoin then dropped back, seemingly amid renewed fears over the selling pressure created by refunds from collapsed crypto exchange Mt. Gox.
“The incapacity to surpass and maintain $57,000 would make us establish an initial bearish target at $50,000. However, recovering $58,000 would mean opening the way to $60,000 first and next the $64,000 lost last week,” wrote Javier Molina, an eToro markets analyst, in a research note.
Bitcoin hit a record high near $74,000 in mid-March amid a surge of interest from new spot exchange-traded funds but its price has dropped since then.
Ether —the second-largest crypto—was up 1.8% at $2,3066 and has risen more than 60% over the past 12 months.
The Securities and Exchange Commission recently approved critical rule changes to allow spot Ether exchange-traded funds to trade. The final approvals for the ETFs should come this summer, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler told senators in a recent budget hearing.
Smaller cryptos, or altcoins, were mixed with Solana gaining 0.7%, Cardano rising 2.5% and Dogecoin losing 0.9%.
