Bitcoin fell from a five-week high on Thursday, as markets continued to react to the latest Federal Reserve interest rate decision. The U.S. Fed moved to increase interest rates by 50 basis points as expected, whilst also laying the ground for a slower pace of hikes in coming months. Ethereum also retreated from recent highs, falling below $1,300 earlier today.
Bitcoin
Bitcoin (BTC) was once again trading below $18,000, as bears reentered the market following the latest Fed meeting.
Following a move to a five-week high of $18,318.53 on Wednesday, BTC/USD slipped to an intraday low of $17,642.51 earlier today.
The drop seemingly comes as traders moved to secure profits, after recording three straight days of gains.
Looking at the chart, this reversal in price coincided with the 14-day relative strength index (RSI) failing to break out of a ceiling at 60.00
As of writing, the index is tracking at the 57.17 mark, with the next visible point of support at 54.00.
Should price strength find its way to this floor, it is likely that BTC will be trading close to the $17,200 point.
Ethereum
In addition to bitcoin, ethereum (ETH) also moved lower on Thursday, following the U.S. Federal Reserve’s decision to hike rates by 0.5%.
After the decision, Fed Chair Jerome Powell gave some market guidance stating that they “are getting close to the level we think [is] sufficiently restrictive.”
ETH/USD fell to a bottom of $1,280.52 earlier in today’s session, less than 24 hours after hitting a high of $1,346.17.
As can be seen from the chart, the drop comes as ETH failed to sustain a breakout from its long-term ceiling of $1,300.
Overall, prices are down by nearly 4% from yesterday’s peak, with the RSI currently tracking at 50.92, which is marginally above a floor at 50.00.
Bulls will see this as a positive, and have hopes that today’s sell-off will not continue throughout the rest of the week.
Register your email here to get weekly price analysis updates sent to your inbox:
Do you believe ethereum will fall below $1,200 this week? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.