Bitcoin (BTC) held above $63,000 on April 26 despite facing a slew of negative influences. These include significant outflows from spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) over two days, heightened regulatory scrutiny marked by a United States Federal Bureau of Intelligence warning against unregistered crypto services, and efforts by U.S. senators to scrutinize cryptocurrency transactions.
On April 25, spot Bitcoin ETFs in the U.S. saw a net outflow of $218 million, which followed a $120 million outflow the previous day, as reported by Farside Investors. Notably, Franklin Templeton was the only provider to record inflows on April 25, indicating that the withdrawal trend cannot solely be attributed to high fees at Grayscale GBTC.
U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bill Cassidy sent a letter on April 25 to the U.S. Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security. They sought details on measures being employed to tackle the issue of pseudonymity in cryptocurrency payments for child abuse material. The senators referenced a report from Chainalysis and emphasized the need to punish those selling such illicit content.
Bitcoin can ignore negative economic forecasts
Bitcoin bulls are drawing optimism from deteriorating global macroeconomic conditions, particularly after the U.S. Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) increased by 2.8% year-over-year in March. This rise in inflation, which surpasses the target set by the U.S. Federal Reserve, is particularly alarming given that U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) growth for the first quarter was lower than expected at 1.6%.
These figures bolster market expectations that the Fed will maintain higher interest rates for an extended period, as reported by CNBC. George Mateyo, chief investment officer at Key Wealth, noted, “The prospects of rate cuts remain, but they are not assured, and the Fed will likely need weakness in the labor market before they have the confidence to cut.”
According to Lawrence MacDonald, founder of “The Bear Traps Report,” interest payments as a percentage of federal spending in the U.S. are projected to increase to 12.3% in 2024, up…
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