Bitcoin (BTC) faced a potentially volatile day on January 18, with multiple macro triggers beginning to unsettle the landscape.
The Bank of Japan refuses to raise interest rates
Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed that the BTC/USD pair held firm above $21,000 during the day.
The pair remained cool on news from Japan, where the nation’s central bank had decided to maintain ultra-loose policy, defying expectations of an interest rate hike.
In doing so, both the Japanese yen and the US dollar took a hit in the latest chapter of a saga closely watched by cryptocurrency enthusiasts.
“By keeping its key interest rate and yield curve control policy unchanged at today’s meeting, the Bank of Japan probably wanted to send a message to the market: don’t fight the BoJ,” ING Bank said in a statement. dedicated answer article.
Michaël van de Poppe, a Cointelegraph contributor, focused on the further decline in the US dollar index (DXY) after the news broke.
“Another bearish pullback taking place in the DXY, where it starts to fall substantially, perhaps even due to today’s announcements by the Bank of Japan,” summarized.
In this case, the DXY bounced off 101.9, missing the seven-month lows hit on Jan. 16.
van de Poppe also referred to upcoming US data such as the December 2022 Producer Price Index (PPI).
“In a few hours we will know the PPI figures and retail sales,” he added.
“There may be some movement afterward.”
BTC Whale Purchases Raise Doubts
In the Bitcoin markets, meanwhile, suspicions continued to swirl around activity on the Binance order book, as high-volume traders saw increasing supply liquidity.
Material Indicators, an on-chain analytics resource, argued that a single entity was potentially moving bids higher, helping to hold the BTC/USD pair to two-month highs.
“Speculating it could be the same whale using $4m to isolate his $22m and give enough time to cap the $22m if the $4m gets hit. It’s just a theory. Time will tell.” He said one of multiple Twitter messages from January 17.
However, a Tweet He later expressed concern about “how long they can go on like this,” hinting that a corrective move could still affect Bitcoin.
The latest data from Binance’s order book showed the strongest resistance clustered around $22,000.
The views, thoughts and opinions expressed herein are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.
Investments in crypto assets are not regulated. They may not be suitable for retail investors and the entire amount invested may be lost. The services or products offered are not directed or accessible to investors in Spain.