Decentral Block Post

The Aug. 10 Consumer Price Index (CPI) report shows year-over-year inflation rose 8.5% in July and while this figure is below economists’ expectations of 8.7%, it is still high. Although inflation remains much higher than the Federal Reserve's 2% target, the marginal slowdown raises hopes that the rate hikes by the Federal Reserve have started to work. That has reduced the probability of a 75 basis point rate hike in the September meeting from 68% on Aug. 9 to 37.5%, according to CME group data.

Risky assets, including the cryptocurrency markets, responded positively to the CPI print. Compared to Bitcoin (BTC), the altcoins are enjoying a stronger rally. This has pulled Bitcoin’s dominance near its yearly lows while Ether (ETH) has climbed near its yearly high.

According to CoinShares data, Ether-related products have seen inflows of $159 million in the past seven weeks. This indicates that Ether seems to be garnering attention from institutional investors in anticipation of the Merge, which is scheduled for Sept. 19.

Could Bitcoin and altcoins sustain the higher levels? Let’s study the charts of the top-10 cryptocurrencies to find out.

BTC/USDT

Bitcoin turned down from $24,245 on Aug. 8 and dropped to the 20-day exponential moving average (EMA) ($22,966) on Aug. 9. The bulls aggressively purchased the dip on Aug. 10 and are attempting to push the price above the overhead resistance at $24,668.

Bitcoin (BTC) price continues to battle at the $24,000 resistance and the price was rejected there on Aug. 10, but the rejection was not enough to knock the price out of the 52-day-long ascending channel. The channel has a $22,500 support and this bullish formation suggests that the BTC price will eventually hit the $29,000 level by early October.

Bitcoin derivatives data does show a lack of interest from leveraged longs (bulls), but at the same time, it does not price higher odds of a surprise crash. Curiously, the most recent Bitcoin downturn on Aug. 9 was accompanied by a negative performance from U.S.-listed stocks.

On Aug. 8, chip and video graphics card maker Nvidia Corp (NVDA) announced that its 2Q sales would present a 19% drop compared to the previous quarter. Moreover, the U.S. Senate passed a bill on Aug. 6 that could negatively impact corporate earnings. Despite freeing $430 billion to fund "climate, healthcare and tax," the provision would impose a 1% tax on the stock buyback by publicly traded companies.

The high correlation of traditional assets to cryptocurrencies remains a huge concern for some investors. Investors should not be getting ahead of themselves even if inflationary pressure recedes because the U.S. Fed monitors employment data very closely. The latest reading displayed a 3.5% unemployment typical of overly heated markets, forcing the monetary authority to keep raising interest rates and revoking stimulus debt purchase programs.

Reducing risk positions should be the norm until investors clearly indicate that the U.S. Central Bank is closer to easing the tighter monetary policies. That is precisely why crypto traders are following macroeconomic numbers so closely.