Bitcoin price nears $30,000 despite banking crisis; First Republic Bank crashes by 47% in a day

Bitcoin price has managed to pull itself away from the narrative of being correlated to the United States stock market and macroeconomic conditions. The biggest cryptocurrency in the world has been rallying for more than a week now despite the ongoing banking crisis in the country, which is close to bringing down another bank.

BANK RUN! - Up next: First Republic Bank

The worsening banking conditions seem to be preparing its next victim in the form of First Republic Bank. After Silvergate bank, Silicon Valley Bank and Signature bank, First Republic Bank might become the fourth bank to collapse if the present conditions sustain.

The commercial bank took a hit at the beginning of the month but has since not been able to stabilize itself. This has led to the bank losing nearly 90% of its value in the span of 15 days. Most of the damage came from the last week alone, as First Republic Bank’s ticker FRC noted a 75.49% drop, bringing the share price to $12.08 at the time of writing.

FRC 1-day chart

The conditions have worsened to the point where trading of the FRC shares had to be halted earlier in the day. Although trading resumed after a while, the bearishness was so intense that within 20 seconds, the trading was halted again.

Consequently, concerns about the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting have risen. While many are still optimistic about 25 basis points (bps) hike over the earlier estimates of a 50 bps hike, some others are of the opinion that the Fed should refrain from raising rates at all for now. 

According to Goldman Sachs (GS), the Fed should pause its rate hiking streak that began last year. The bank stated that the fight against inflation could wait for another six weeks. GSadded,

“The link between a single 25bp rate hike and the future path of inflation is quite tenuous, and the FOMC can always hike again at its next meeting just six weeks later if appropriate or send signals to tighten financial conditions even sooner.

However so, Bitcoin price stood safe from these concerns.

Bitcoin price climbs higher 

Bitcoin price stood at $28,000 at the time of writing, rising by more than 27% in the span of seven days. The cryptocurrency is nearing the critical resistance at $28,567, and flipping the same into a support floor will prepare BTC for a rise to $30,000. The last time the biggest crypto asset in the world was at this price was nine months ago, in June 2022. 

BTC/USD 1-day chart

This sustained increase in Bitcoin price despite the worsening macroeconomic conditions has imbued confidence in the heart of investors. At the same time, this rally has brought BTC closer to being free from the claims of being correlated to the traditional finance markets. This has restored its safe haven label, putting it in the same league as Gold. 

However, traders should watch out for any potential decline before jumping into trading BTC, as the crypto asset is susceptible to corrections. The sudden explosion in price has pushed the cryptocurrency to the brink of being overbought, and a market cooldown could follow with some decline in price.