Bitcoin, Ether hover above support amid China optimism, US futures bump

Bitcoin held above the $30,000 level as indices in Asian, Indian, European, and U.S. markets turned green on Tuesday, data showed.

Traders priced in expectations of relaxation of norms in Shanghai after weeks of strict lockdowns, leading to a bump in Chinese stocks. Policymakers in Beijing are taking steps to alleviate the economic slowdown, with various moves in the past week to boost its economy.

Optimism around China helped positive sentiment and revival in the broader Asian market, as Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose as much as 6%, while India’s Sensex jumped 2.5%. Indices in Japan and Shanghai added nearly half a percent each.

Elsewhere, Europe’s Stoxx 600 was up 1.5% in midday trading, and U.S., S&P500 futures gained 1.5%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 1.9%.

Lately correlated nearly 1:1 with broader equity markets, cryptocurrencies were ahead 3.2% after nearly a week of declines that saw bitcoin (BTC) fall to as low as $24,000. At current press time, the largest crypto is selling for $30,300. Ether (ETH) added 2.2% in the past 24 hours to trade above $2,000, with similar gains for Avalanche’s AVAX, BNB Chain’s BNB, and Dogecoin.

Bitcoin hovers above psychological support at $30,000. (TradingView)

Polygon’s MATIC (MATIC) gained 5.5% as Polygon Studios CEO Ryan Wyatt said the firm was working with Terra projects affected by last week’s implosion and would onboard them to Polygon’s broader DeFi ecosystem. Terra held billions of dollars in value on various DeFi applications, such as Anchor, before last week’s fall.

Inflation, bear market concerns

Crypto markets were weighed down in the past few weeks amid waning sentiment for risky assets. The U.S. Federal Reserve said it would hike rates several times this year in an effort to tighten its balance sheet, which led to turbulence across broader markets.

Morgan Stanley’s wealth-management division warned against slowing economic growth in a note this week, even stating that current price action in stocks and bonds resembled a bear market more than a correction.

“The stock- and bond-market downturn has advanced to behavior resembling a classic cyclical bear market rather than simply a correction,” said Lisa Shalett, chief investment officer at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management in a note Monday.