Cryptocurrency prices rose slightly during Tuesday's trading, as traders' expectations of a Federal Reserve interest rate hike in October diminished following the release of the latest US jobs data.
Bets on an interest rate hike have declined this month, but traders still largely expect monetary policy to tighten in December, with the CME Group’s FedWatch tool indicating an 87% probability of an interest rate increase at that meeting.
Crypto assets typically benefit from lower interest rate expectations, as a decline in borrowing costs can increase the liquidity available for investment in riskier assets, while Treasury bond yields and the course of monetary policy are key drivers of market movements.
In a notable development, Japan’s MetaPlant, the world’s second-largest Bitcoin holder, announced it had purchased 1,000 new units of the cryptocurrency during the third quarter as part of a strategy to expand its investments in digital assets.
The purchase raised the company's total holdings to 44,000 Bitcoin units, worth approximately $3.7 billion, according to data recorded on September 30.
Naeem Aslam, chief investment officer at ZAI Capital Markets, said that Bitcoin’s recent movements remain highly sensitive to expectations of liquidity, Treasury yields and institutional investment flows, and not just to cryptocurrency market news, according to MarketWatch.
Regarding the performance of major currencies, Bitcoin rose by 0.18% to $85,867.50, an increase of $153.14, while Ethereum climbed by 0.23% to $2,715.31, a gain of $6.25.
In contrast, Ripple fell 0.13% to $1.5031, down about $0.0020.
