Crypto market gains explained: What’s pushing prices higher today

The crypto market is up at last check on Wednesday as investors capitalize on the recent dip and open interest rebounds. 

Bitcoin (BTC) price jumped by 1.4% to $104,000, while Ripple (XRP) rose by 2% to $2.2. Some of the top gainers in the crypto industry included altcoins such as ZKsync, Zcash, Aster, and Quant.

Tariff hearing continues at the SCOTUS

One reason why the crypto rally is happening is that the U.S. Supreme Court held the first hearing on the legality of President Trump’s reciprocal tariffs. The hearing followed the administration’s losses in lower courts.

A Polymarket poll with $542,800 in assets predicts that the court will rule against Trump. Odds of Trump winning dropped to 20% from 43% earlier this week.

If Trump loses, it could push the administration to lower tariffs, which would reduce inflation. Lower inflation would then raise the odds of more Federal Reserve interest rate cuts. Cryptocurrencies often do well when the Fed is cutting rates. 

However, Trump has more options to impose tariffs. For example, he can use Section 301, which allows tariffs in response to unfair trade practices by foreign governments. 

Crypto rally happening as futures open interest rises 

The ongoing crypto market rally is also happening as leverage starts to move back to the industry. Data compiled by CoinGlass shows that the futures open interest rose by 2.13% to over $143 billion.

Rising open interest is a bullish sign of increased liquidity in the crypto market. Still, the current open interest is much lower than it was a few months ago. 

The figure has been in a free fall after last month’s liquidation, which cost more than $1.6 million, and wiped out $20 billion in a day.

Positive crypto news is boosting sentiment

Meanwhile, the crypto market is rising following positive news in the industry. One of them is that Citadel and Fortress Capital took a stake in Ripple Labs, valuing the company at $40 billion. 

The other major crypto news came from ZKsync, whose community members voted to grant ZK utility and introduce token burning. Chainlink also partnered with S&P Global for the upcoming launch of the S&P Digital Markets 50 Index. 

Still, there is a risk that the ongoing crypto market rally is a dead-cat bounce. A DCB, also known as a bull trap is a situation where an asset rises briefly and then resumes the downtrend. 

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