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Bitcoin has climbed above $30,000 for the first time since June as investors eagerly await key inflation data. The largest cryptocurrency by market cap rose 7% to $30,193.25, while ether advanced more than 3.5% to $1,925.11, its highest point since August. Traders are speculating that Wednesday’s consumer price index number could influence the Fed to pause raising rates in the next meeting, thereby boosting assets like bitcoin. Investors are also keeping an eye on the latest reading on the producer price index, due out Thursday.
Bitcoin's move into the mid- to high-30s is "likely" if it pushes through with conviction, according to James Lavish, managing partner at the Bitcoin Opportunity Fund. This would "force short speculators to cover and buy instead." Ether has been climbing ahead of its planned "Shanghai" tech upgrade, which is expected to bring a wave of negative sell pressure on the market as previously locked funds on Ethereum are released over the next few weeks. Despite the decoupling of the top two crypto assets in March, they remain somewhat correlated, and macro drivers continue to influence both assets. The upcoming inflation data will be key in determining if or when the Fed will pause or end its rate-hiking campaign.
