Market Recap: Bitcoin Finds New Ground, Stocks Rise on Earnings

Bitcoin flips resistance into support

Bitcoin has pushed its way back up and through a resistance level of around $42,500. The crypto went as high as $45,400 and has since settled near $43,450. Ether has followed a similar trend by breaking through and holding above the resistance level of $3,000.

After the pump of the last few days, major cryptos like bitcoin and ether have settled back down and created a support line of previous resistance. This paints of picture of positive near-term sentiment in the digital asset markets.

[stock_market_widget type="accordion" template="chart" color="#5679FF" assets="BTC-USD,ETH-USD" start_expanded="true" display_currency_symbol="true" api="yf" chart_range="5d" chart_interval="1d"]

Adding to the positive sentiment was largely positive US House Financial Services Committee's hearing today on stablecoin regulations. Nellie Liang, undersecretary of the Treasury for domestic finance, testified during the hearing that stablecoins would not compete with the dollar or a CBDC (central bank digital currency) issued by the Federal Reserve.

"It is important to preserve the value of the dollar. I believe stablecoins that are stable, and can deliver a stable value tied to the dollar, would be would benefit the US dollar," said Liang.

"In my view, regulating stablecoins to the dollar does not in any way, preclude anything with respect to the introduction of the CBDC. It is hard to know what the future will look like, but one could imagine they could coexist," said Liang when talking about CBDCs and privately issued stablecoins existing alongside one another.

Generally positive earnings

Good earnings reports seem to have helped investors forget about incoming rate hikes. The S&P 500, Nasdaq and Dow rose on the day as earnings reports have largely been positive even with outliers like Meta and PayPal trending downward.

The S&P 500 rose by 37.67 points or 0.84%. The Nasdaq increased by 175.79 points or 1.21%, and the Dow rose by 371.65 points or 1.06%.

[stock_market_widget type="accordion" template="chart" color="#5679FF" assets="^GSPC,^IXIC,^DJI" start_expanded="true" display_currency_symbol="false" api="yf" chart_range="5d" chart_interval="1d"]

Top stories

Story: Couple Arrested as Government Recovers $3.6B in Stolen Bitcoin

• If convicted, both crimes carry a total maximum sentence of 25 years in prison.
• It’s the department’s largest financial seizure ever, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said in a statement.

Story: Web3 Startup Alchemy Raises $200M to Fuel Blockchain Development

• In under four months, Alchemy valuation has jumped 191% from $3.5 billion to $10.2 billion.
• Over $105 billion in annualized on-chain transactions have been powered by Alchemy to date, up 133% from $45 billion in October.

Story: Andrew Yang: We Must Avoid Politicizing Crypto, Web3

• Perception of the digital asset space must move beyond “a bunch of crypto bros who are speculating,” according to Yang.
• The Forward Party, a political action committee that the former Democrat created in October, is seeking to become the movement that helps mainstream crypto technologies.

Story: Sovereign Wealth Fund Vet Eyes $150M for Crypto Fund of Funds

• Before forming Nural, Rabia Iqbal worked for Mubadala, Coatue Management and Morgan Stanley.
• The fund of funds plans to back both crypto and venture capital managers, as well as investing directly in tokens and equity plays.

Going forward

Investors seem to have been attracted back to the markets by positive earnings reports which have reduced the amount of fear and uncertainty in the market. Federal Reserve Gov. Michelle Bowman is scheduled to speak tomorrow at 10:30 am EST, followed by Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester at 12:00 pm EST. These events could have some effect on tomorrow's market movements.

---

Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. Subscribe to the Empire newsletter.