Bitcoin is in a period of historically low volatility.
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Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies fell back on Thursday, continuing to languish below peak levels reached earlier this year. A historically quiet period for digital assets could mean that even key U.S. inflation data might not move the needle much.
The price of
Bitcoin
has dropped 1% over the past 24 hours to below $29,500, remaining below the key $30,000 level that had supported the largest crypto for months until a slide in late July.
“Bitcoin attempted to climb above $30,000 and was again pushed back by sellers,” said Alex Kuptsikevich, an analyst at broker FxPro. “The technical picture … is on the side of the bears, who have managed to keep Bitcoin below its 50-day moving average, signaling a change in the medium-term trend from bullish to bearish. A break below $28.8K can switch the entire crypto market into a faster sell-off mode.”
Digital assets are in a period of historically low volatility, a trend that some bulls point to as a precursor to another run higher after big gains already seen this year. But low volatility could also be a more permanent shift for Bitcoin—and one that isn’t necessarily positive for market dynamics.
Either way, a trading lull could result in a muted reaction to key inflation data due Thursday in the form of the U.S. consumer-price index (CPI) for July—a metric that is sure to move the
Dow Jones Industrial Average
and
S&P 500.
“It’s noticeable that Bitcoin—unlike traditional finance—hasn’t benefited as much in recent months from decelerating U.S. inflation and the prospect of an imminent end to the U.S. tightening cycle, further evidence we’re in a summer crypto lull,” said Antoni Trenchev, managing partner at crypto lender Nexo.
Beyond Bitcoin,
Ether
—the second-largest token—lost less than 1% to $1,850. Smaller cryptos or altcoins were similarly muted, with
Cardano
and
Polygon
each slipping near 1%. Memecoins exhibited more of the same, as
Dogecoin
and
Shiba Inu
shed less than 1% each.
Write to Jack Denton at jack.denton@barrons.com
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