{"id":8936,"date":"2022-03-02T15:57:45","date_gmt":"2022-03-02T15:57:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nftandcrypto-news.com\/crypto\/bitcoin-casts-off-dip-climbs-past-45k-as-fed-signals-rate-hike-coming-in-march\/"},"modified":"2022-03-02T15:57:47","modified_gmt":"2022-03-02T15:57:47","slug":"bitcoin-casts-off-dip-climbs-past-45k-as-fed-signals-rate-hike-coming-in-march","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nftandcrypto-news.com\/crypto\/bitcoin-casts-off-dip-climbs-past-45k-as-fed-signals-rate-hike-coming-in-march\/","title":{"rendered":"Bitcoin casts off dip, climbs past $45K as Fed signals rate hike coming in March"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Bitcoin (BTC) hit daily lows, then bounced strongly on March 2 as fresh comments by the United States Federal Reserve added to macro volatility.<\/p>\n

BTC\/USD 1-hour candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingView<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Powell: March rate hike expected “appropriate”<\/h2>\n

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView\u00a0showed BTC\/USD dipping to $43,350 on Bitstamp before the Wall Street open on March 3.<\/p>\n

A recovery ensued as trading began, however, with the pair already back above $45,000 at the time of writing.<\/p>\n

The volatility followed the release of a new statement from Fed Chair Jerome Powell, who for the first time gave concrete notice of a key rate hike coming this month.<\/p>\n

“Our monetary policy has been adapting to the evolving economic environment, and it will continue to do so,” he commented. <\/p>\n

“We have phased out our net asset purchases. With inflation well above 2% and a strong labor market, we expect it will be appropriate to raise the target range for the federal funds rate at our meeting later this month.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Long priced in by the markets, questions nonetheless remained as to the extent of the hike, and how many could follow in 2022. The Russia-Ukraine conflict, Powell added, threatened “highly uncertain” consequences for the U.S. economy.<\/p>\n

Bitcoin nonetheless shook off any nervousness over the news, climbing to near local highs just under $45,000.<\/p>\n

For trader and analyst Rekt Capital, there was cause for optimism, as in terms of order books, BTC\/USD was now in something of a “gap” which could trigger a run towards $48,000<\/a> \u2014 the next area of sell-side resistance.<\/p>\n

Of interest, too, was whether the 50-day exponential moving average (EMA) could be flipped to support.<\/p>\n

\n

#BTC<\/a> continues to hover below the blue 50-week EMA<\/p>\n

Breaks beyond this EMA have preceded immense upside<\/p>\n

Turn this Bull Market EMA into support and we’ll see the Bull Market resume$BTC<\/a> #Crypto<\/a> #Bitcoin<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/neXcP6lUHs<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Rekt Capital (@rektcapital) March 2, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

“A scenario could be that we’re going upwards again on Bitcoin to trap the shorts, take the liquidity and go back down towards $42 thousand,” Cointelegraph contributor Micha\u00ebl van de Poppe continued<\/a> in a separate forecast on the day. <\/p>\n

“Next to that, we also have a massive resistance at the $46,000 region which I doubt we’ll break in one go.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

LUNA gains signal return to $100 all-time highs<\/h2>\n

Elsewhere, altcoins were stable, with Ether (ETH) looking to retake the $3,000 mark once again.<\/p>\n

Related:\u00a0Bitcoin analysts eye crucial levels to hold after BTC price almost hits $45K, Ethereum $3K<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Terra (LUNA) was the standout in the top ten cryptocurrencies by market cap, continuing a winning streak set to see it reach $100 after its initial rejection at the start of the year.<\/p>\n

“The total value locked in the entire crypto ecosystem is actually doing really well,” Van de Poppe added<\/a>. <\/p>\n

“It only lost approx. 10%\u201315% in $USD value in the past months, while the entire market has been dropping down heavily. The next wave of the bull phase will probably be led by DeFi.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

LUNA\/USD 1-day candle chart (Binance). Source: TradingView<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n