Bitcoin News and Forecast
Date: 2023-12-17 Author: Dima Zakharov Categories: IN WORLD
Despite Bitcoin's price drop, uncertainties surrounding Bitcoin ETFs and hacker attacks on the DeFi market, investors continue to accumulate BTC coins. The number of BTC addresses with non-zero balances set a new record above 50 million. This indicates that buyers are willing to increase their holdings, despite new BTC inflows to exchanges.
Global Market Overview and Its Impact on Bitcoin's Price and Forecast
In the EU, the FTSE 100 index fell by 0.2% to 7,643.80 points, the French CAC 40 increased by 0.41% to 7,606.55 points, and the German DAX rose by 0.67% to 16,866.07.
Mixed sentiments followed updates from key central banks this week. The US Federal Reserve decided to keep interest rates unchanged, maintaining the range between 5.25% and 5.5% at its last meeting of the year.
The European Central Bank (ECB) announced its decision to keep current key interest rates unchanged for refinancing operations at 4.50%, marginal lending at 4.75%, and the deposit facility at 4.00%. This marks the second consecutive meeting where the ECB has opted to maintain interest rates, possibly signaling the end of the rate-hike cycle that began in July 2022.
Meanwhile, Asian stocks rose on Friday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average reached another record high amid speculation that the Federal Reserve may lower interest rates multiple times next year. Prices for US futures and oil also increased.
Hong Kong led the growth in Asia, with developers surging after some Chinese cities eased property purchase restrictions. Hang Seng gained 2.2% to 16,764.62, but the Shanghai Composite index fell by 0.5% to 2,942.56.
Shares of troubled developer Country Garden rose by 5.1%, China Evergrande's shares by 2.2%, and Sino Ocean Holding's shares by 6.8%.
China's National Bureau of Statistics reported a 6.6% increase in industrial production in November, and retail sales grew by over 10%, indicating signs of economic improvement that have outpaced expectations in the post-COVID-19 recovery. However, real estate investments weakened further, suggesting that the debt crisis in this sector is far from resolution.
The Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo gained 0.9% to 32,970.55, while Seoul's Kospi increased by 0.8% to 2,563.56. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index rose by 0.9% to 7,442.70. SET quotes in Bangkok rose by 1%, and Sensex stocks in India increased by 0.7%.
On Thursday, the S&P 500 index gained 0.3% and approached 1.6% of its historical high set early last year, closing at 4,719.55. The Dow index increased by 0.4% to 37,248.35, and Nasdaq rose by 0.2% to 14,761.56.
Bitcoin's Short-Term Price Outlook
In the near future, significant changes in Bitcoin's price are not expected. It is likely to remain within the current range of $41,800 to $42,800, with no significant volatility anticipated in the cryptocurrency market.
