The crypto market is trying to form an uptrend

Market picture

The crypto market cap rose by 1.4% to $2.31 trillion. Cryptocurrencies and equities are now out of sync (there was profit-taking in equities), but they maintain a general upward bias. The crypto market is forming an uptrend, which will be confirmed if local highs exceed the previous high of $2.32 trillion.

Bitcoin received a jolt on Tuesday, first jumping 4% in four hours to almost $68K and then losing over 4.6% to $64.7K. The market digested this influx of stop orders and soon began to rise again, trading near $66.8K at the time of writing. It will be interesting to see the bulls and bears continue to battle on a retest of $68K. The first cryptocurrency was not allowed to go higher in July, but now the bulls have the breakdown of the descending channel and an active pullback from the 200-day moving average on their side. At the same time, the RSI on the daily timeframe is not yet in the overbought territory, leaving room to run.

Ethereum looks weak now, approaching $2,700—the area of previous peaks—but it needs to break through. Perhaps a return of risk appetite in the equity markets will spark new momentum for the second-largest cryptocurrency to rise towards $3,000.

News background

The funding rate for perpetual bitcoin contracts has hit a multi-month high, indicating bullish sentiment and a growing influx of liquidity, notes The Block.

CryptoQuant notes that demand for Bitcoin has surged, rising at the fastest monthly pace since April 2024. Open interest (OI) in derivatives rose to a record $19.8 billion.

Standard Chartered predicts that Bitcoin could hit an all-time high ahead of the US election. Donald Trump’s increased odds of victory, significant inflows into spot bitcoin ETFs, and increased activity in the BTC call options market are fuelling sentiment.

MicroStrategy shares are a leading indicator of a potential bullish breakout, according to Bernstein. They are up 190% year-to-date, while BTC is up just 55%.

The US Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) fined TD Bank a record $1.3 billion for facilitating money laundering through cryptocurrencies.