Summary
- Crypto roundup for Wednesday portrays cautious optimism among traders as upbeat U.S. data, Q3 earnings contradict trade war fears.
- Bitcoin posts a two-day downtrend near $111K, Gold hits another ATH beyond $4,200, but the U.S. Dollar remains pressured.
- Bank of America, Morgan Stanley cheer upbeat Q3 earnings, Nvidia rallies on HSBC news.
- U.S.-China trade war fears prevail as both sides try to have an upper hand.
- U.S. Empire State Manufacturing Index came in way past the market forecast and prior.
- Cryptocurrencies remain pressured despite improvement in sentiment, ignoring upbeat industry developments.
- U.S. equities stay firmer after a mixed trading day as bank, IT stocks rise.
Crypto Roundup for Wednesday: Mid-tier catalysts trigger optimism
The risk complex remains mildly positive early Wednesday as upbeat U.S. activity data joins positive third-quarter (Q3) earnings reports from Wall Street. Adding to the cautious optimism is an absence of major negatives from the U.S.-China trade deal front, even as none of them offered any positives.
Against this backdrop, Bitcoin (BTC) drops for the second consecutive day, despite lacking downside momentum near the $111K. Meanwhile, the spot Gold (XAU) posts a four-day winning streak to refresh its record top near $4,218, close to $4,200 by press time. However, the U.S. Dollar Index (DXY) remains pressured around 98.90 as we write, while the Wall Street benchmarks post gains, and the bond yields are down.
U.S. Empire State Manufacturing Index for October rose past -1.8 market forecasts and -8.7 previous readings to a whopping 10.7.
Even so, Fed Governor Stephen Miran reaffirmed the market’s expectations of witnessing two more rate cuts this year.
Elsewhere, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bassent fired warning shots at China by suggesting a decoupling from the trade talks. The diplomat, however, cited the restoration of the U.S.-Canada trade talks.
Notably, China’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mr. Lin proposed further talks between the U.S. and China diplomats.
Meanwhile, Axios quoted the U.S. National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett saying that there is a “clever and generous” bailout coming for farmers as soon as the government shutdown ends.
It’s worth observing that doubts about the Gaza peace plan joined upbeat U.S. Q3 earnings and uncertainty surrounding the U.S. shutdown to challenge traders on Wednesday.
Crypto, Equity Update
Cryptocurrency markets face another downbeat day, despite improvement in broader risk sentiment limiting downside in major coins as Wall Street opens.
Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) both drop over 1.0% each, whereas Ripple (XRP) posts a 1.00% intraday loss by press time. That said, Shiba Inu (SHIB), Dogecoin (DOGE), Avalanche (AVAX), and Polkadot (DOT) all mark daily negatives ranging from 1.0% to 2.0%, but prices of Solana (SOL) and Litecoin (LTC) grind between gains and losses, lacking momentum by press time.
Notably, the Bitcoin Dominance improves to 58.5%, from 58.3%, but the crypto market capitalization (market cap) rises 1.43% on the day to $3.80 trillion by press time, according to CoinMarketCap.
Talking about major news, China Merchants Bank’s affiliate CMB International brought together traditional finance and blockchain while launching its $3.8 billion Money Market Fund on the BNB Chain.
In an effort to restore crypto trader’s trust, the Brazil, Russia, India, and China (BRIC) countries agreed to pay $299.5 million to Tether to settle Celsius creditors, resolving the issue from 2022 when the trading platform announced for bankruptcy.
Meanwhile, the U.S. House Republicans put forward a bill to activate President Donald Trump’s crypto executive order to open retirement funds to Bitcoin and other digital assets. The bill, the Retirement Investment Choice Act, if passed, will direct the U.S. Labor Department to allow retirement plan administrators’ broader discretion to include digital and alternative investments in 401Ks and similar plans.
Read More: House Republicans Move to Cement Trump’s Bitcoin-Backed Retirement Policy
Elsewhere, the U.S. and the UK authorities offered a historic blow to the Cambodian pig butchering syndicate by seizing 127,271 Bitcoin and luxury properties in London, as well as sanctioning the Prince Group leader Chen Zhi.
More Details: Cambodian Pig Butchering Syndicate Loses $15B Bitcoin in Historic DOJ Seizure
That said, the Rootstock Labs launched an Institutional BTCFi initiative that targets unlocking around $260 billion in institutional Bitcoin (BTC) that currently sits idle across exchange-traded funds (ETFs), corporate treasuries, and mining reserves, producing negative yields due to the custody costs.
For More: Rootstock Institutional BTCFi Aims to Unlock $260B in Idle Bitcoin
Some of the top crypto news are mentioned above, while more updates like this could be traced to our Coin Bytes.
In the case of Wall Street, the U.S. equities begin Wednesday’s trading with gains, mainly driven by bank and IT stocks. That said, Dow Jones rises 0.80% intraday, but S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite both gains over 1.0% each.
Looking into details, HSBC’s upgrade to Nvidia stock, from hold to buy, and increasing target price from $200 to $320, bolstered technology shares and the tech-heavy Nasdaq. Elsewhere, upbeat third-quarter (Q3) results from the Bank of America (BofA) and Morgan Stanley in pre-market contributed to the positive performance of bank and financial company shares.
On Tuesday, the U.S. equities began trading on a negative note, but recovered losses during the late hours to offer a mixed daily close.
- Gold hits another ATH, to $4,220 despite easing to $4,200 by press time.
- Bitcoin (BTC) stays pressured, down for the second consecutive day to $111K as we write.
- Ethereum (ETH) also drops, tracing BTC in its two-day fall to $4,015 at the latest.
- U.S. Dollar Index (DXY) remains pressured, down for the second consecutive day near 98.90 at the latest.
- Wall Street benchmarks rise, with Dow Jones up 0.80%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq both rising more than 1.0% each as we write.
- WTI Crude Oil dribbles, struggles to defend bounce from a five-month low near $58.70 at the latest.
Risk catalysts eyed…
Having witnessed the initial reaction to the upbeat U.S. data and equity performance, market players will keep their eyes on the risk catalysts, mainly the Gaza conflict, the U.S. government shutdown, and U.S.-China trade tensions.
This could allow the U.S. Dollar to pare some recent losses, potentially exerting additional downside pressure on the cryptocurrencies. The prices of gold and equities, however, may defend the latest run-up.
Overall, the lack of U.S. data, coupled with ongoing geopolitical and trade-related risks, may weigh on the sentiment despite intermediate bounces.
Also read: Cryptocurrency Weekly Price Prediction: BTC, ETH & XRP Plummet under U.S. Risk Pressure
