Bitcoin Trades Steadily As Jackson Hole Meeting Approaches

According to CoinDesk, Bitcoin has been trading between $59,000 and $61,000, with traders closely watching the upcoming Jackson Hole meeting for potential market-moving comments. Over the past two weeks, Bitcoin rose above $61,000 during Asian trading hours but remained largely confined within this range. The Federal Reserve's annual Jackson Hole symposium, scheduled for later Friday, is anticipated to provide insights that could influence market dynamics. Most major cryptocurrencies showed little change, with Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), BNB Chain (BNB), and XRP moving less than 2% in the past 24 hours. The CoinDesk 20 (CD20), which tracks the largest tokens by market capitalization, rose by 1.7%. Notably, Cardano's ADA increased by 3%, and Avalanche's AVAX surged by 10% after being added as a network option for Franklin Templeton's OnChain U.S. Government Money Market Fund (FOBXX). FOBXX, which started trading in 2021, became the first money-market fund to use a public blockchain for recording transactions and ownership. Spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) listed in the U.S. recorded $64 million in inflows, marking a six-day winning streak. BlackRock's IBIT led with $75 million in inflows. However, some firms view the general slowdown in inflows as a bearish signal. In contrast, Ethereum ETFs continued to experience significant outflows, extending a record outflow streak to six days. These ETFs lost over $800,000 on Thursday, bringing cumulative outflows to over $458 million since their launch on July 23. Market participants are keenly awaiting comments from the Jackson Hole meeting, which may indicate the Federal Reserve's monetary policy direction. This could impact the prices of risk assets, including Bitcoin. QCP Capital noted that the downward revision of U.S. non-farm payrolls highlighted a weaker labor market, raising concerns that the Fed might delay rate cuts. However, these worries eased after the July FOMC minutes revealed that some policymakers were open to rate cuts, signaling a more dovish stance. Attention is now focused on Fed Chair Powell's speech at Jackson Hole, which is expected to provide more clarity on rate-cut signals. Markets are heavily betting on rate cuts, and unexpected economic data could significantly impact market sentiment. Powell is anticipated to confirm a pivot to lower borrowing costs next month, a move that has historically boosted bullish sentiment among traders. Nonetheless, some market participants remain cautious, suggesting that Powell might aim to maintain flexibility against the four cumulative cuts priced into the year-end. Augustine Fan, head of insights at SOFA, noted that Jackson Hole has generally been a 'risk-positive' event, with traders likely to buy on dips.