Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin Dragged Down By Soaring US Inflation — Why Are Crypto Traders Still Bullish In Uncertain Times?

Bitcoin traded under the psychologically important $40,000 level at press time on Thursday evening, with the global cryptocurrency market cap falling 4.35% to $1.75 trillion.

Price Performance Of Major Coins
Coin 24-hour 7-day Price
Bitcoin BTC/USD -6.1% -5.6% $39,300.01
Ethereum ETH/USD -4.3% -5.2% $2,596.16
Dogecoin DOGE/USD -3.8% -8.1% $0.12
Top 24-Hour Gainers (Data via CoinMarketCap)
Cryptocurrency 24-Hour % Change (+/-) Price
ICON (ICX) +41.5% $0.93
Waves (WAVES) +30.53% $28.71
ThorChain (RUNE) +11.1% ​​$4.91

See Also: How To Buy Bitcoin (BTC)

Why It Matters: On Thursday, the U.S. Labor Department released inflation numbers for February. Headline consumer price index or CPI rose 7.9% in the month, above an estimated 7.8%, the biggest increase since January 1982.

Risk assets moved lower after the inflation data. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq closed 0.4% and 0.95% lower at 4,259.52 and 13,129.96, respectively. 

Cryptocurrencies moved in line with stocks and headed downwards. However, some analysts are of the view that the apex coin may emerge as a hedge against inflation. 

“Maybe the short-term price will drop due to panic, but long-term I think #Bitcoin is by far the best bet against inflation,” tweeted Michaël van de Poppe, a cryptocurrency trader.

The co-founders of on-chain analysis company Glassnode, Jan & Yann, tweeted that commodities look strong and there is a “rotation to value.”

A chart shared by them, depicting the top 10 assets by market cap, reveals a 15% decline in the year-to-date performance of Bitcoin, while gold shot up 14%. 

Meanwhile, the put/call ratio for Bitcoin hit a six-month high of 0.69 in February amid bearish market sentiments, according to Delphi Digital.
On Thursday, the volume-adjusted put/call ratio hit a monthly low of 0.44 as call volumes rose. Deribit traders were buying April 29 BTC calls for $42,000, $50,000 and $60,000 strikes, Delphi said, boosting the notional value up to $193 million on the exchange. 
“This might indicate that traders are turning bullish, even in an uncertain macro environment.”

BTC Options Open Interest Vs BTC Put/Call Ratio For Open Interest and Volume — Courtesy Glassnode

Ethereum has formed a stronger correlation with the S&P500 index than Bitcoin over the past month. Gold has a “spot-on” inverse correlation with the two largest cryptocurrencies by market cap, according to financial market data and content platform Santiment.

Read Next: Investing Stimulus Checks In This Cryptocurrency Would Have Fetched Whopping 23674% Returns Now

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