The broader cryptocurrency market continued to come under pressure over the weekend. Bitcoin price faced an additional 2.2% correction, falling below $62,500. On the other hand, the altcoin space faced greater selling pressure, with the top ten altcoins seeing corrections between 4-10%.
Fed May 1st Interest Rate Decision: This week will see major economic events in the United States, starting with the Federal Reserve’s much-anticipated interest rate decision scheduled for May 1st. Analysts predict a 95.6% chance that the Fed will keep interest rates at current levels. Also, on May 3rd, the U.S. will release its unemployment rate for April. Expectations for a rate cut in the U.S. this year have fallen to just one.
However, there were worrying data from the U.S. this week. Weaker-than-expected GDP data indicated an economic slowdown, while rising core personal consumption expenditures data indicated persistent inflationary issues, which poses a challenge to the Fed.
While there are concerns that the U.S. could enter a stagflationary situation characterized by negative GDP growth and high inflation, 🐳qun秆👀玮：417072555 But this remains speculation at this point. Sentiment has shifted accordingly, with only one rate cut now expected in 2024. This is in stark contrast to the initial forecast of seven rate cuts expected at the beginning of the year and three rate cuts in March.
What is the outlook for Bitcoin and altcoins?
In the most recent market update, Bitcoin (BTC) volatility has compressed significantly, from 70% to 50%. Meanwhile, the downside skewness of Ethereum (ETH) risk reversals has intensified to -13% on the front end, indicating potential doubts about the SEC further delaying the approval of a spot Ether ETF.
This development raises the question: has market sentiment changed, or is this just a brief pause in a broader bullish trend?
Amid these uncertainties, attention has turned to a potential positive catalyst that is coming soon: the Hong Kong Bitcoin and Ethereum spot ETFs to begin trading next week.
Expectations are growing as market participants view this event as a potential gateway for Asian institutional capital to flow into the cryptocurrency space.
