Bitcoin (BTC) continues its sideways trading pattern, fluctuating between $61,000 and $59,900 over the past 24 hours, as the broader cryptocurrency market remains devoid of significant catalysts. The leading cryptocurrency briefly spiked late Wednesday following the release of U.S. job growth data, which revealed that job growth for the 12 months ending in March 2024 was 818,000 lower than previously reported.
The price jump was further fueled by speculation surrounding Robert Kennedy Jr.’s potential withdrawal from the 2024 presidential race and his rumored endorsement of Republican candidate Donald Trump, who is perceived as a pro-crypto candidate. Polymarket bettors now place a nearly 94% likelihood on this scenario, marking a notable shift in sentiment.
However, Bitcoin’s price spike was short-lived, as profit-taking ensued, causing BTC to dip back to as low as $59,900. The cryptocurrency managed a slight recovery during Asian trading hours on Thursday, climbing back above $60,800, leading to minor gains across the market.
“The crypto market once again failed to break through the $2.15 trillion cap, falling 2.3% to $2.1 trillion, almost back to where it started Tuesday,” observed Alex Kuptsikevich of FxPro. He noted that institutional demand appeared to be directed toward other assets, such as gold, which has surged to record highs amid a weaker dollar.
Meanwhile, inflows into U.S.-listed spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) remained subdued, with only $39 million in net flows recorded on Wednesday. This tepid inflow suggests a continued lack of new demand from professional investors, contributing to bearish pressure on BTC.
In contrast, major altcoins like Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), and Binance’s BNB saw gains of up to 2%, while Dogecoin (DOGE) and XRP remained relatively unchanged. Tron (TRX) experienced a 4.5% drop after a brief rally sparked by the launch of a new memecoin generator.
Notably, Polygon’s MATIC surged by 12% as it approaches a significant token migration, transitioning from MATIC to POL—a unified token usable across all of Polygon’s blockchains. Chainlink’s LINK also saw a 15% increase following the integration of its data feeds into Aave’s new release on the zkSync blockchain, signaling rising demand for the token.
Despite stagnant ETH prices, demand for staking continues to grow, with the validator entry queue reaching an all-time high of around 7,400. However, annualized staking yields have remained steady at around 3.5% over the past four months, creating a scenario where more validators are joining, but rewards are not significantly increasing.
As the market grapples with these mixed signals, Bitcoin’s ability to break out of its current range remains uncertain, while altcoins like MATIC and LINK continue to attract attention amid ongoing developments.
