Cryptocurrencies Traded in a Tight Sideways Range on Thursday, Awaiting the Release of Inflation Data on Friday

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Cryptocurrencies traded in a tight sideways range on Thursday, awaiting the release of inflation data on Friday. Any rally in markets may be limited as traders digest a mixed U.S. economic snapshot and await the pending release of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) on Friday, according to economists at ING.

The snapshot of the world's largest economy showed that jobless claims fell last week, but consumer spending dropped in June, while May data for personal spending was revised down. Economists had expected a modest increase in consumer spending.

The snapshot also showed that the trade deficit widened in June as imports rose more than economists expected. Economists had expected the trade deficit to narrow.

Meanwhile, the University of Michigan's preliminary reading of consumer sentiment for July came in better than expected, showing a slight improvement from last month. Economists had expected consumer sentiment to worsen.

The slew of economic data showed that the U.S. economic recovery continues to be slow and uneven, with some bright spots but also some setbacks. This mixed picture could have implications for the Federal Reserve's monetary policy outlook.

The Fed is expected to keep interest rates stable at its meeting next week, but traders will be looking for clues about the Fed's plans for future rate hikes or cuts.

The pending release of the CPI on Friday is expected to show that inflation continues to moderate, but traders will be watching closely for any surprises in the data.

The Institution Is Averaging Down On Bitcoin - Ben Cowan

Plan B, the creator of the Stock-to-Flow Bitcoin price model, had previously stated that the price of Bitcoin (BTC) serves as a metric for evaluating the relative attractiveness of investing in stocks compared to holding onto BTC.

In a recent X post, Plan B presented a chart comparing the price of Bitcoin to the total market cap of the U.S. stock market. The chart showed that the price of Bitcoin has dropped significantly from its all-time high, while the total market cap of the U.S. stock market has remained relatively stable.

According to Plan B, this difference in price action may indicate that the institution is averaging down on Bitcoin. In other words, the institution is buying more Bitcoin as the price falls.

"Is the institution interested in stocks or Bitcoin? Well, they are averaging down on Bitcoin. Pay attention to the yellow line (U.S. stocks) and compare it to the purple line (Bitcoin price). It's clear that the institution isn't focused on the stock market at all. They've moved on to something else entirely, and that's Bitcoin," said Plan B.

This analysis aligns with recent reports that large institutions, such as BlackRock and Charles Schwab, have applied for spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) products. The approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF could open the door for more institutional money to flow into the cryptocurrency market.

According to The Cryptomist, Bitcoin bulls are defending support at this level. It is crucial for this support to hold to avoid bearish retests of this zone. Afterwards, bulls need to break $87,700 to push towards $90,000.

"Strong reaction on this test at support, which is crucial for bulls to hold to prevent bearish retest of this zone. Afterwards, bulls need to break $87.7k for $90k," said The Cryptomist.

However, Crypto Caesar believes that Bitcoin is struggling at resistance and that it isn't likely to go far.

"Don't get your hopes up too high. We're meeting resistance here at this Fib level, and we're not really going anywhere. We'll have to wait and see if we can break out of this range to continue the uptrend. But for now, it's a waiting game."

"We're still in a bull market, but we're seeing some signs of weakness from Bitcoin. It's struggling to break through this resistance, and it's starting to get a bit messy. We'll need to see some more strength from Bitcoin if we want to see it continue to rise," said Crypto Caesar.

Moreover, Ben Cowen pointed out that a "death cross" is coming up soon for Bitcoin.

"Local lows tend to occur around that time," said Ben Cowen.

suggest that the death cross may be a useful indicator of upcoming local lows in the Bitcoin market.

The analysis aligns with the observation that the 50-week moving average has acted as a significant support or resistance level throughout the history of the Bitcoin market.

Historically, when the price of Bitcoin falls below the 50-week moving average, it tends to continue trending downwards, leading to lower lows in the market. Conversely, when the price of Bitcoin stays above the 50-week moving average, it tends to continue trending upwards, leading to higher highs in the market.

In this case, the analysis suggests