Bitcoin BTC price hovers below $30,000 as investors await upcoming rate decision, BTC options expiry

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In another drudgery day in the crypto market, bitcoin (BTC) briefly feigned higher on Friday before settling back into its increasingly familiar environment below $30,000. The largest digital asset by market capitalization was recently trading at $29,904, up 0.3%.

Ether (ETH), the second-largest cryptocurrency, remained largely unfazed during the day, lingering around its weekly low below $1,900. Major alternative cryptocurrencies called altcoins, including SOL and XRP, recovered some of their losses incurred earlier in the day.

MKR, the governance token of decentralized finance lender MakerDAO, challenged the broader market and posted double-digit gains, supported by the activation of a token buyback program.

But the micro-cap token CNC cratered up to 75% during the day following a 1,700 ETH exploit of around $3.2 million from Conic Finance, a decentralized finance protocol adjacent to Curve.

The CoinDesk market index, which tracks the performance of a basket of digital assets, rose 0.3% in the past 24 hours, underscoring a somewhat tepid trading day. Investors are eyeing a likely increase in Federal Reserve interest rates and the expiration of bitcoin options next week.

In an email, Rachel Lin, CEO and co-founder of decentralized derivatives exchange SynFutures, noted that the week started with excitement over a favorable ruling in the Ripple-SEC case as investors expressed hope for an altcoin season. But BTC and ETH failed to break through resistance and returned to their weekly lows, weighing on the market.

[Bitcoin] options data shows high open interest in the $31,000 and $32,000 call options, denoting strong resistance at those levels, Lin said. The last day was more favorable, with call options trading almost 3 times the volume of put options.

Fundamentally, the outlook remains bullish as money continues to flow into the crypto ecosystem, she added. This could represent a brief reversal, potentially leading to a move up to $34,000 if BTC reaches a sustained break above $31,500.

In an interview with CoinDesk TV’s “First Mover” program, Will Peck, head of digital assets for asset manager WisdomTree, said it was “difficult” to pinpoint a near-term bitcoin price target. But he also suggested that the impact of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) approval of a bitcoin spot ETF from one of the financial services giants that filed applications last month, including WisdomTree, was uncertain.

“An underlying question is how much institutional money there might be out there,” Peck said.

Lawrence Lewitinn, chief content officer at The Tie and CoinDesk TV contributor, said neither the U.S. central bank’s likely 25 basis point (bps) rate on Wednesday nor month-end option expirations are likely to pull bitcoin out of its current lull.

“We will see for the most part that prices will remain stable, at least for the future,” Lewitinn said. “Unless there is an exogenous variable, some kind of crazy news who knows what [SEC Chair Gary] Gensler could do it. But all things being equal, we’re probably going to end up at around $30,000, a slow week.”

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