Markets: Bitcoin back above US$19,000 while Ether posts strongest gains since post-Merge

Lachlan Keller

2 years ago

Bitcoin rose above US$19,000 in early Tuesday morning trading in Asia after falling below that resistance level overnight for the first time in almost two weeks. Ethereum showed signs of shaking off the post-Merge slump as it gained along with the rest of the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization.

Fast facts

Bitcoin rose by 0.8% in the past 24 hours to trade at US$19,564 at 8 a.m. in Hong Kong, while Ether gained 3.4% to US$1,379 according to CoinMarketCap.
Despite these gains, Ether is still 19.5% lower than a week ago after seeing a significant sell-off after the long-awaited Merge, which saw it transition to a proof-of-stake network. Ethereum Classic, the network from which Ethereum was forked, was also trading 1.6% higher at US$30.48 on Tuesday, though remains 20.6% lower than last week.
XRP led gains in CoinMarketCap’s top 10, rising 8.2% to US$0.38. This follows the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Ripple Labs Inc., the token’s issuer, seeking a summary judgment in the long-standing lawsuit in an effort to reach a conclusion without going to trial. Solana was the second-biggest mover, gaining 5.4% to trade at US$32.70, while Dogecoin gained 2% to change hands at US$0.058.
U.S. equities also ended Monday in the black. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.6%, the S&P 500 Index rose 0.7% while the Nasdaq Composite Index finished the day 0.8% higher.
Investors await the results of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) taking place on Sept. 20 – 21, which is expected to conclude with a further 75-basis-point hike to combat continued inflation.
Market analysts at CME Group currently predict there is a 19% chance the Fed will increase rates by a full 100-basis points, given August’s Consumer Price Index defied expectations to show inflation had actually grown throughout the month by 0.1%. Interest rates in the U.S. are currently set at a range of 2.25% – 2.5%.