Bitcoin breaks through $61,000, the biggest intraday gain since early August

The day before the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision, the crypto market generally rose.

According to Bitpush data, Bitcoin soared to $61,000 during trading on Tuesday, the largest intraday gain since August 8. Mainstream currencies such as Ethereum , Dogecoin and Solana also rose, with gains ranging from 2% to 4%. As of press time, the trading price fell back to around $60,253, a 24-hour increase of nearly 4%.

In terms of altcoins, most of the top 200 tokens by market capitalization saw gains. Dymension (DYM) saw the largest gain, up 24.1%, followed by Immutable (IMX) and Celestia (TIA), up 15.6%. Trust Wallet Token (TWT) saw the largest drop, down 12.5%, Helium (HNT) down 5.3%, and Theta Network (THETA) down 1.7%.

The current overall market value of cryptocurrencies is $2.08 trillion, and Bitcoin’s market share is 57.1%.

The three major U.S. stock indices were mixed, with the Nasdaq closing up 0.2%, the Dow Jones closing down 0.12%, and the S&P flat.

Focus on rate cuts

The strong performance of cryptocurrencies comes as market watchers are closely watching tomorrow's Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, where the Federal Reserve is expected to announce its first interest rate cut since 2020.

Steven Lubka, director of Swan Private at Swan Bitcoin , said the fourth quarter will be positive for the cryptocurrency asset class, regardless of the magnitude of the rate cut.

“Bitcoin prices could rise if the Fed cuts rates by 50 basis points, but this could offset gains if the market views it as an emergency move,” he said in a note. “A 25 basis point cut would bring a more uncertain outcome, while no cut could lead to a short-term sell-off. Looking ahead to the fourth quarter of 2024, we expect Bitcoin to perform strongly, helped by improved liquidity conditions. In addition, the FTX bankruptcy is expected to return $16 billion to investors, providing them with liquidity that can be used to repurchase assets.”

According to CME's "Fed Watch", the probability of the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates by 25 basis points in September is 37.0%, and the probability of cutting interest rates by 50 basis points is 63.0%.

Bitcoin is expected to reach $90,000 in the next year

TradingView analyst TradingShot said: "Bitcoin has strongly broken through the 1D MA50 (blue trendline in the figure below) today and slightly broke through the top of the triangle pattern since July (lower high trendline). Buying pressure is strong after the second rebound of the 1W MA50 (red trendline) in just 1 month. If the 1D candle closes above the lower high, we will receive a strong breakout buy signal for at least the rest of the year."

TradingShot said, “In this case, we see an ascending channel similar to the one before March 2024, which does have the potential to test the 6-month resistance zone before the US election, followed by a technical pullback before the election, and then resume the uptrend in the remaining year, with the target being at least the 2.0 Fibonacci extension level, which is $90,000.”

“Bitcoin local structure has turned bullish again here, closing above the previous September high and locking in a higher low,” independent analyst Jelle said in a Sept. 17 X post.

Jelle mentioned Bitcoin’s recent high of $60,670, which was set on September 13, up from the high of $59,830 on September 3. According to the analyst, this move shows that the market is strong enough to overcome the $65,000 resistance level, saying: “ Looking at the BTC/USD 12-hour chart, it looks like a breakout above $65,000 is on the cards — and then a new all-time high.”