Bitcoin Hits $124,400 ATH, Ethereum Next In Line, What’s Driving It?

[Redator]

Bitcoin hit a new all-time high (ATH) on August 13, providing a bullish outlook for the leading cryptocurrency. Ethereum has also recorded remarkable gains in the last seven days, bringing it close to its ATH. This development has occurred thanks to macro factors, which are boosting risk-on sentiment. 

Bitcoin Hits New ATH While Ethereum Records Massive Gains

CoinMarketCap data shows that Bitcoin has reached a new ATH of $124,400, surpassing its previous ATH of around $123,091, which it hit just a month ago. Meanwhile, Ethereum is up almost 30% in the last seven days and is now just about 2% away from its ATH of $4,891. With the crypto market boasting this bullish momentum, ETH is expected to reach a new ATH sooner rather than later. 

These rallies for Bitcoin and Ethereum have occurred on the back of positive macro developments such as the U.S. CPI data, which has boosted hopes of a September Fed rate cut. The July CPI inflation data came in at 2.7%, which showed that inflation in the country was steady. This reading was also lower than the expected 2.8%. 

Meanwhile, earlier on, the July job data had suggested that the U.S. labor market was weakening after nonfarm payrolls rose to 73,000, lower than the expected 147,000. Meanwhile, May and June figures were revised to 19,000 and 14,000 from 144,000 and 147,000, respectively. 

These developments have proven bullish for Bitcoin and Ethereum as the odds of a 25-basis-point (bps) September Fed rate cut have reached as high as 99%, according to CME FedWatch. These odds are now at 95% while there is a 4.2% chance of a 50 bps, which would be more bullish for these crypto assets if it happens. Rate cuts inject more liquidity into the market and boost investors’ appetite for risk-on assets like BTC and ETH. 

Higher Prices Still Likely For BTC

Crypto analyst Ezy said that the Bitcoin price is in the ‘Sign of Strength’ phase, signaling that this is the beginning of a major bullish move after a period of accumulation by whales. The analyst added that the first target in this phase is typically the 1.618 Fibonacci, which is around $130,000. 

Meanwhile, the Ezy stated that the second target is at the 2.0 Fibonacci level, near $145,000, and the final target is around $166,000. His accompanying chart showed that Bitcoin can reach these targets between September and October, around when the monetary easing cycle is expected to begin. 

At the time of writing, the Bitcoin price is trading at around $122,600, up over 2% in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap.