Bitcoin price approaches $50k helped by institutional ownership

Bitcoin price soared today helped by the surging demand by institutional investors. The price rose to almost $50,000, meaning that it has risen by more than 1,000% from its lowest level in March 2020. Other cryptocurrencies like Ethereum, Litecoin, and Bitcoin Cash also rose, pushing the total market value of cryptocurrencies to more than $1.3 trillion. In the past few weeks, the price of these currencies has risen after some prominent companies like Tesla, MicroStrategy, and Square have bought Bitcoin worth billions of dollars.

The euro rose today after the relatively strong economic numbers from the European Union. According to Eurostat, the bloc’s economy contracted by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, a better performance than the previous estimate of -0.7%. On an annualised basis, the economy contracted by 5.0%, better than the previous estimate of -5.1%. Further data showed that the employment change in the region declined by 2.0% in the quarter. Meanwhile, in Germany, economic sentiment improved from 61.8 in January to 71.2 in February.

The British pound hovered near the highest level in almost three years as investors reacted to the progress in the UK. According to the government, more than 15 million people have received the vaccination two days after the program started. This means that the total population will receive a vaccine in the next few months. The vaccine issue has pushed more analysts to predict that the Bank of England will not lower interest rates to the negative zone. 

EUR/USD

The EUR/USD price rose to an intraday high of 1.2155, which is the highest it has been since January 29 this year. On the four-hour chart, the price is slightly above the important resistance at 1.2150. It is also slightly below the important resistance at 1.2185. The price has also moved above the 25-day and 15-day exponential moving averages. Therefore, the pair may continue rising as bulls target the resistance at 1.2185.

GBP/USD

The GBP/USD price rose to an intraday high of 1.3950. On the four-hour chart, this price is slightly below the upper side of the ascending channel. The MACD has also moved above the neutral line while the money flow index (MFI) has also risen. Therefore, the pair will likely continue rising ahead of the important UK CPI data set for tomorrow.

USD/JPY

The USD/JPY rose to an intraday high of 105.62 and then pulled-back to the current level of 105.27. The highest point today was along the median line of the Andrews Pitchfork tool. The price is also attempting to move below the 25-day and 15-day moving averages. Therefore, the USD/JPY will remain in a bearish trend so long as it is below the pitchfork’s median line.