Bitcoin and ether market update, Feb. 2

Total crypto market cap added $37 billion for the period since Monday and now stands at $1,089 billion. The top ten currencies are all in green for the day with Polygon (MATIC) and Binance Coin (BNB) being the biggest gainers with 13.3 and 7.4% increases respectively. At the time of writing bitcoin (BTC) is trading at $23,800. Ether (ETH)  is at $1,670.

BTC/USD

Bitcoin closed the trading day on Sunday, January 29 at $23,783 after a solid session during which it managed to add 3.5% to its value and move out of the 8-day range. The coin successfully surpassed the monthly horizontal resistance 2 days before the end of January.

The BTC/USDT pair, however, could not keep up with the momentum and on the very next day erased all gains by falling down to $22,820, which resulted in a 4% drop.

The Tuesday session was a slow one as the markets were anxiously waiting for the United States Federal Reserve Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting and the federal rate decision on Wednesday. The 24-hour trading volumes fell below the average for the last 14 days.

The leading cryptocurrency drew a small green candle on the daily chart and avoided further decreases.

Bitcoin ended the month of January 40% higher and fully engulfed the last four candles on the 1-month chart.

The mid-week trading on Wednesday was marked by extreme volatility across the entire cryptocurrency and legacy financial markets.

The Fed announced a 25 bps interest rate hike, fully in synch with the expectations. The risk asset markets rallied on the news. BTC jumped 2.7%.

What we are seeing midday on Thursday is an early attempt from buyers to continue the uptrend.

ETH/USD

The Ethereum Project token ETH added less than a percent during last week’s trading, making it 37% for the last 4 weeks. The coin hit $1,646 on Sunday, January 29, and was still trading in the narrow range below the monthly resistance line.

The ether started the new trading period on Monday with a sudden drop to the zone right below $1,540, touching the short 21-day EMA on the daily timeframe chart. The move resulted in a 5.2% decrease in its valuation.

On Tuesday, January 31, the ETH/USDT pair remained stable in the area near $1,580 ending the first month of the year with a 32% increase.

As mentioned above in our BTC analysis, the markets reacted positively to the announced 25 bps interest rate hike on Wednesday. ETH was no exception jumping 3.5% up from the 21-day EMA.

Still, the coin remained caught in the tight range between the 200-day EMA and the monthly resistance since January 15. The current price action and the formed technical analysis formation are similar to a Bullish rectangle consolidation which usually suggests more upside is in sight.

As of the time of writing this market update on Thursday buyers are already trying to climb above the monthly resistance.