Bitcoin, the leading cryptocurrency, soared past the significant $30,000 mark on Tuesday for the first time in 10 months. This increase comes as investors anticipate an end to the U.S. Federal Reserve's aggressive monetary tightening measures. In Asian trading, Bitcoin reached a peak of $30,438 and was last valued at $30,070, up 1.4%. Since the beginning of April, it has seen a nearly 6% gain after a 23% increase in March.
Investors now await Wednesday's U.S. inflation report to gauge the Federal Reserve's next moves. The central bank is expected to ease up on rate hikes following the banking sector turmoil in March, which had caused stress on the sector. Nevertheless, the U.S. nonfarm payrolls (NFP) report on Friday revealed a strong pace of hiring in March, suggesting a resilient economy and bolstering the case for rate hikes.
Joseph Edwards, an investment adviser at Enigma Securities, said, "There were some expectations of a potential miss on NFP on Friday, and that's bolstered confidence coming into CPI."
Crypto investment products experienced $57 million in inflows last week, mostly focused on Bitcoin, according to digital asset manager CoinShares on Monday. Despite the low volume, the report indicated that digital asset flows have returned to positive territory for the year.
"The market has done a great job at culling all leveraged participants in the past 18 months," said Matthew Dibb, chief investment officer at Singapore-based crypto asset manager Astronaut Capital. "If (Bitcoin) can survive the week over $30,000, we are going higher."
Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency, neared last week's approximately eight-month high of $1,942.50, trading at $1,920.40, up 0.5%.
Crypto investors are eagerly awaiting a significant Ethereum blockchain overhaul set for Wednesday, which will grant access to over $33 billion worth of ether currency. The software upgrade, known as Shapella, will enable market participants to redeem their "staked ether" - coins they have deposited and locked up on the network for the past three years in exchange for interest.
Bank of America strategist Alkesh Shah notes that although Shapella is unlikely to directly influence selling pressure on ether, the event could cause increased volatility.
