Leading cryptocurrencies surged Wednesday amid softer-than-expected consumer inflation and a friendlier regulatory environment under Donald Trump.
| Cryptocurrency | Gains +/- | Price (Recorded at 7:30 p.m. ET) |
| Bitcoin BTC/USD | +3.08% | $99,743.07 |
| Ethereum ETH/USD | +5.46% | $3,394.95 |
| Dogecoin DOGE/USD | +5.54% | $0.3787 |
What Happened: Bitcoin topped the $100,000 mark for the first time in nearly 10 days as the leading cryptocurrency reacted to key bullish developments.
While the latest Consumer Price Index data showed hints of slowing inflation, a report raised hopes for clear cryptocurrency regulations under new SEC leadership.
Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency, reentered the $3.400 zone, hitting an intraday high of $3,465.
Over $350 million were liquidated from the cryptocurrency market in the last 24 hours, with 63% accounting for downside bets.
The market was getting overleveraged, and nearly $1 billion in longs risked liquidation if Bitcoin reversed to $93,000.
About 53% of Binance traders expected Bitcoin to correct, as the Long/Short ratio fell below 1.
The "Greed" sentiment increased from 70 to 75 in the last 24 hours, according to the Crypto Fear & Greed Index, indicating a surge in buying pressure.
Top Gainers (24-Hours)
| Cryptocurrency | Gains +/- | Price (Recorded at 7:30 p.m. ET) |
| Virtuals Protocol (VIRTUAL) | +24.02% | $3.70 |
| Fartcoin (FARTCOIN) | +23.04% | $1.26 |
| XDC Network (XDC) | +19.26% | $0.1328 |
The global cryptocurrency market capitalization stood at $3.51 trillion, rising 4.37% in the last 24 hours.
Stocks lifted on Wednesday following the release of consumer inflation data. The Dow Jones Industrial Average popped 703.27 points, or 1.65%, to 43,221.55 The S&P 500 lifted 1.83% to close at 5,949.91. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite erased losses from the previous day, surging 2.45% to 19,511.23.
December's Consumer Price Index report revealed core inflation grew slower than expected, sparking excitement in the market and driving the stocks up. Notably, the headline Consumer Price Index matched analysts' expectations.
That said, investors expected the current interest rate range of 4.25%–4.50% to remain unchanged at the upcoming Federal Reserve meeting, according to the CME FedWatch tool.
See More: Best Cryptocurrency Scanners
Analyst Notes: Popular on-chain analytics firm CryptoQuant projected Bitcoin to hit $145,000-$249,000 in 2025, spurred by substantial institutional capital flows.
A mixture of a positive regulatory environment under a pro-cryptocurrency Trump administration, "accommodative" monetary policy, and the fact that Bitcoin was in the most bullish phase of its 4-year cycle could accelerate momentum, according to the research firm.
Widely followed cryptocurrency trader Michaël van de Poppe predicted the market would shift from this point on as Bitcoin breaks $100,000 and Ethereum confirms a bullish divergence.
"Dollar will become weaker, rates will go down, altcoins will go up," he remarked.
Photo by CMP_NZ on Shutterstock
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