Decentral Block Post

The $900 million Bitcoin (BTC) weekly options expiry on May 12 might play a decisive role in determining whether the price will succumb below $27,000.

Bitcoin price rejected again at $30,000

BTC bears will try to take advantage of macroeconomic headwinds, Silk Road coins' FUD, and uncertainty caused by Bitcoin’s transaction fee spike to pull Bitcoin's price down in the next few days.

The BTC/USD pair  broke above $29,800 on May 6, but the tide quickly changed as the resistance proved stronger than anticipated.

The subsequent 8.2% two-day correction tested  $27,400 support, favoring the thesis of sideways trading as investors evaluate the economic crisis dynamic and its potential impact on cryptocurrencies.

Meanwhile, Berkshire Hathaway owner and billionaire investor Warren Buffett is no longer optimistic about the U.S. economy’s growth. Such a pessimistic scenario for the global economy might explain why some Bitcoin traders decided to reduce exposure over the past week, greatly reducing the odds of breaking $30,000.

Bitcoin (BTC) struggled to recover from fresh losses on May 11 as a false alarm over United States government sales spooked markets.

Analysts deny U.S. government BTC sales

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD circling $27,400 at the time of writing.

The pair had seen a flash sell-off the day prior, briefly taking it to $26,850 after claims that confiscated BTC held by the U.S. government was being sold off.

This was subsequently disproved, but for already sensitive crypto markets, the damage was done.

Among traders, Jackis described the local lows as a “scam” move, while forecasting lower levels to come.

After a brief overshoot above $2,000 on May 6, the Ether price has returned to a tight range between $1,820 and $1,950, which has been the norm for the past three weeks.

According to the latest Ether (ETH) futures and options data, odds favor the Ether price breaking below the $1,820 support, as professional traders have been unwilling to add neutral-to-bullish positions using derivatives contracts.

Not even the memecoin frenzy that boosted Ethereum network demand was able to instill confidence in investors. The average Ethereum transaction fee skyrocketed to $27.70 on May 6, the highest in 12 months, according to BitInfoCharts data. As reported by Cointelegraph, one of the main drivers behind the increase was the insatiable demand for Pepe (PEPE), among other memecoins.

Moreover, the increased gas fees have driven users to layer-2 solutions, which could be interpreted as a weakness. For instance, it causes a decline in the total value locked by removing deposits from the Ethereum chain, especially in decentralized finance applications.

Some analysts believe the $30 million Ether sale by the Ethereum Foundation contributed to ETH being unable to break above $2,000, as nearly 20,000 ETH were sent to the Kraken cryptocurrency exchange. The foundation’s last relevant transfer occurred in November 2021, when the price topped around $4,850 and subsequently declined by 80%.

Bitcoin (BTC) ticked higher around the May 10 Wall Street open as United States inflation data beat expectations.

Markets eye June Fed rate hike pause

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD responding instantly to the April Consumer Price Index (CPI) print, up 1.7% on the day.

The pair saw local highs of $28,328 on Bitstamp before consolidating immediately above the $28,000 mark.

The CPI had come in at 4.9% year-on-year, a shade below the expected 5.0%. This gave a clear signal that U.S. inflation was continuing to decrease, once more in line with predictions from both the Federal Reserve and external sources.

“Fed’s data dependency kicking off well, strong jobs data and now inflation as expected... pause in June at this stage,” financial commentator Tedtalksmacro wrote in part of a Twitter response.

Bitcoin (BTC) tracked $27,500 on May 10 as markets geared up for what should be a positive United States inflation print.

CPI set for months of decline

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView followed BTC/USD as it lingered in a narrow trading range ahead of the April Consumer Price Index (CPI) release.

A classic volatility catalyst for risk assets, CPI forms one of the key metrics the Federal Reserve considers when changing interest rates.

The next change is a full month away, but government and private-sector metrics predict declining inflation to persist and even accelerate in the coming months.

“A little bit of stagnation now, but into the coming two to three months, we’re likely to see a gradual decline, and actually a pretty steep decline, in inflation,” financial commentator Tedtalksmacro said in part of YouTube analysis on May 9.

Bitcoin (BTC) treaded water below $28,000 on May 9 as markets prepared for macroeconomic data releases.

Bitcoin stays muted on eve of CPI

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD acting near $27,700 at the day’s Wall Street open.

The pair had seen deeper losses the day prior, with a tap of $27,300 so far marking the local bottom.

Traders hoped that May 10 would provide some much-needed volatility in the form of the United States Consumer Price Index (CPI) print for April.

“Bitcoin still trending downwards, as $27,800 now becomes resistance. I’m expecting a sweep lower again, and then we’re ready to long your longs in anticipation of CPI,” Michaël van de Poppe, founder and CEO of trading firm Eight, told Twitter followers in an update.