N Rotteveel/iStock Editorial via Getty Images
Bitcoin (BTC-USD) changed hands near breakeven in Tuesday morning trading as cryptocurrency-market traders await the Federal Reserve's interest-rate decision on Wednesday.
Following a 14.4% climb over the last five sessions, in the wake of a banking crisis, bitcoin (BTC-USD) edged higher by 0.7% to $27.98K at 11:14 a.m. ET. The token has had a stellar performance year-to-date, surging 65.6%.
With BTC eking out small gains, a slew of other major digital coins also caught a bid during the session, including ethereum (ETH-USD), +2.8%, XRP (XRP-USD), +11.6%, cardano (ADA-USD), +3.2% and dogecoin (DOGE-USD), +1.3%. According to CoinMarketCap data, the global crypto market cap gained 0.6% to $1.18T.
"The Fed needs to pause at a minimum, or the banking issues escalate," David Brickell, director of institutional sales at crypto-focused institutional liquidity network Paradigm, wrote in a Twitter post. In other words, he's suggesting that the Fed should prioritize stability of the banking system over sticky inflation and at the very least keep the policy rate steady for now.
Despite the tumult in the banking sector, triggered by the twin failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, the fed funds futures market is pricing in a 25 basis-point rate hike on Wednesday as the most likely outcome, according to the CME FedWatch Tool, taking the target range to 4.75%-5.0%. Before the banking turmoil, traders were largely expecting a 50-bp move as inflation stays well above the central bank's objective.
Bear in mind that Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Friday assured that the U.S. banking system remains sound.
Most crypto-exposed stocks traded in the green: Riot Platforms (RIOT), +2.3%, Marathon Digital (MARA), +2.7%, Coinbase Global (COIN), +3.7%, BIT Mining (BTCM), +5.7%, CleanSpark (CLSK), +5.6%, and Bit Digital (BTBT), +6.1%.
See why SA contributor Dan Victor earlier this month reckoned bitcoin (BTC-USD) has room "to climb higher and recover levels last reached in early 2021."