Bitcoin strengthens as crypto falls

Market picture

The cryptocurrency market is in no hurry to recover. Trading near $3.3 trillion in capitalisation, the crypto market is consolidating at a lower level. Before that, there was consolidation near $3.5 trillion, and a fortnight ago, it was just below $3.8 trillion.

It looks like we saw another ‘sell on fact’ as growth stopped after Trump's inauguration, which crypto enthusiasts were optimistic about. The sentiment index rolled back into neutral territory by the end of the first week of February.

Bitcoin is trading at 98,500, having lost over 6% in the last seven days. The bulls failed to organise a quick rebound after Monday's collapse. Corporates and private speculators seem to be buying BTC during downturns. It is not enough to refresh historical records, but it is causing Bitcoin's dominance to grow above 60%—the highest since March 2021.

News background

Crypto investors are frustrated by the lack of progress on creating a US Bitcoin reserve. The day before, David Sachs, head of the Digital Asset Markets Task Force, called the evaluation of creating a Bitcoin reserve a priority but did not provide details.

Former BitMEX exchange head Arthur Hayes said the US, China and other nations will soon be forced to print money, driving Bitcoin to new records.

El Salvador has bought 20 more BTC over the past week, taking advantage of the price drop. On 4 February, the country bought 11 BTC at once, bringing the national bitcoin stockpile to 6,067 BTC.

Technology company Semler Scientific also continues to add to its Bitcoin reserve. It has purchased 871 BTC in the past three weeks and has a total of 3,192 BTC.

Ethereum issuance has grown to 120,521,725 ETH. Comparable levels were last seen in September 2022, before The Merge update. The rise in supply casts a shadow on the narrative of Ethereum as a deflationary asset.

A bill has been introduced in the U.S. Senate to regulate stablecoins, which could boost demand for U.S. Treasuries and spur financial innovation.