Bitcoin is struggling to hold $ 47,000 as the Fed meeting contributes to “extreme” BTC market panic
Bitcoin (BTC) sought signals from the US Federal Reserve on December 14 while the markets eagerly awaited news of policy.
BTC higher lows remain safe
Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed that BTC / USD continued in an area around $ 47,000 when Wall St. opened on December 15.
The pair had reached local highs of $ 48,785 on Bitstamp overnight, but were down 3% at the time of writing ahead of a central Fed meeting.
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) will begin discussions at 2 p.m. Eastern Time, with expectations focusing on interest rates, inflation and the downsizing of asset purchases.
A hawkish attitude is first and foremost in the minds of analysts, this could potentially cause pain for owners of risk assets in the short term if the Fed̵[ads1]7;s approach becomes less liberal.
“The markets are forward-looking. Crypto is even more so because it is not under anyone’s control. It is the only free market left in the world,” the popular crypto trader Pentoshi summed up in a Twitter discussion about the problem.
“The Fed is still adding to its balance sheet, but at a reduced rate. Smart money prepared last month. Slow money this week.”
Traditional markets were similarly directionless, with the S&P 500 down 0.22% on the day.
As Cointelegraph reported, with underperformance of Bitcoin Compared to how many assumed Q4 2021 would look like, a consensus is being built that 2022 will form the market cycle peak for both BTC and altcoins.
“The panic and bearish sentiment against BTC is extreme right now. But there is nothing extreme about this -38% decline,” trader and analyst Rekt Capital repeated.
“Over the years, BTC has gone down 30-40% many times in Bull Markets. In fact, $ BTC is back -53% last May -38% is not extreme.”
Rekt Capital previously noticed that a close above $ 42,300 still represents a higher low formation for BTC / USD.
Fear is all around
In the altcoin markets, the mood was more pronounced in its skew to the downside.
Related: Bitcoin throws “stupid money” as retail buys most BTC since crash in March 2020
Of the top ten cryptocurrencies by market value, all except Solana (SOL) were, to put it mildly, in the red on daily time frames.
Dogecoin (DOGE), fresh from the Tesla publicity, managed to secure around half of its 25% winnings.
“Right now it’s easy for people to sell their bags as they are convinced that a big drop will happen tonight,” Cointelegraph contributor Michaël van de Poppe argued.
The Crypto Fear & Greed Index stood at 28/100, up from 21/100 on Tuesday, and marked a transition from “extreme fear” to “fear” within its own selection that reflects Bitcoin’s recent features.
