DIGIVESTASI - Bitcoin (BTC) has been fluctuating until early February 2024.Bitcoin started the week positively, holding around $43,000. Citing data from Coin Market Cap, Bitcoin rose 0.12% on Saturday (March 2, 2024) to $43,250 over the past 224 hours and rose 3.44% in a week. 

Over the past week, Bitcoin fell below $40,000, dropping 20% to $38,600. This decline follows a rise to $48,983 when the first spot Bitcoin ETF traded in the United States on January 11, 2024 after regulatory approval on January 10, 2024.  The total market capitalization of crypto assets is $848.42 trillion. Meanwhile, Ethereum (ETH) also saw a 0.15% rise in 24 hours, trading at $2,317 over the last 24 hours.

Some altcoins have also made significant gains over the past seven days. For instance, Ronin (RON) rose 25.48% to $2.94. Furthermore, Chainlink also increased 24.43% in a week to $17.71.

Reasons why Bitcoin dropped last week

Crypto Magic analysts said news-based selling and profit-taking by investors after the approval of the spot Bitcoin ETF were responsible for the decline.Where massive accumulation has started since Blackrock listed the spot Bitcoin ETF in June 2023.  

Grayscale Bitcoin (GBTC) investors were also observed to have sold more than $2 billion worth of GBTC since the switch to the ETF, including FTX which sold $1 billion worth of shares. Over the weekend, however, outflows from GBTC ETFs slowed down, followed by increased inflows from other spot Bitcoin ETFs such as BlackRock and Fidelity. 

In addition, the US government plans to sell around 2,930 Bitcoins worth $117 million, including $130 million seized from Silk Road. This week, after the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) held a two-day policy meeting on Tuesday (January 30, 2024) and Wednesday (January 31, 2024). Investors were optimistic that the central bank would hold interest rates steady between 5.25 and 5.50%, which it did.

Another view is that the SFC has already received the first Bitcoin ETF application, while 10 other financial institutions are actively preparing their ETF launches. "Hong Kong could potentially be the first Asian country to approve a spot Bitcoin ETF with the hope of launching the first spot Bitcoin ETF after the Lunar New Year on February 10," explained Magic Crypto analysts in an official statement, quoted Saturday (March 2, 2024). 

Starting January 29, 2024, Google has also enabled ETF product advertising in the United States, so BlackRock, VanEck, and Franklin Templeton can launch advertising campaigns for their spot Bitcoin ETFs. "This move not only opens up new opportunities for Bitcoin ETFs, but also marks the growing recognition of cryptocurrencies as a legitimate asset class," added Crypto Magic analysts.

Bitcoin predictions this week 

This week, the crypto market is bullish as the Fed will hold interest rates at the FOMC on January 30-31, so it is not expected to significantly impact the electronic money market. However, what is worrying is the hint of when the Fed plans to lower interest rates.

Technically, on Tuesday morning (30/1) at 08:00 WIB, BTC moved at the level of 43,200 USD, surpassing the MA-20 and MA-50. In addition, if BTC can stay above the MA-50 or around $42,850, it is likely to move towards the resistance zone of $44,500 and then $45,500. Whereas, if it breaks below the MA-50, then the dynamic support of the MA-20 is likely to drop to the $42,000 range and the closest support is at $40,500. However, investors and traders should be cautious and monitor market developments. Therefore, it is important to conduct independent research and invest according to their individual risk profile.

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