Bitcoin drops despite an end to the U.S. government shutdown

Crypto sentiment has dropped to its lowest in more than eight months amid the ongoing macroeconomic uncertainty rattling market participants. Crypto analysts still believe the bearish mood will be short-lived.

The Crypto Fear & Greed Index’s Saturday update posted an extreme fear score of 10, the lowest it has seen since February 27. The signal comes as Bitcoin plummeted below $95,000 on Friday.

Bitcoin drops despite an end to the U.S. government shutdown

At the time of publication, Bitcoin is trading at $95,778, down nearly 1.5% in the last 24 hours. BTC’s bearish momentum persisted throughout the week, with a decline of more than 6.3% in the previous 7 days.

Dave Rosenberg, founder and president of Rosenberg Research, said the digital asset is in an official bear market after dropping by more than 20% in less than a month. The tech executive also pointed to large redemptions at ETFs through the week.

BTC’s sentiment dropped in February after spot Bitcoin ETFs saw their worst-ever single-day outflows of $1.14 billion. Bitcoin later dropped from $102,000 at the beginning of the month to $84,000. Bitwise’s European head of research, Andre Dragosh, believes the current situation isn’t as bad as it may appear compared to previous drops. 

“Sentiment index is bearish but less so than during previous corrections despite lower prices. Our Cryptoasset Sentiment Index also continues to show a positive divergence.”

Andre Dragosh, Head of Research at Bitwise.

Sven Henrich, founder of NorthmanTrader, said on Friday that BTC’s price chart is showing something potentially positive for Bitcoin bulls. He noted a falling wedge on the chart, suggesting positive divergence. 

Santiment also warned on Saturday of a potential widespread consensus forming about a specific price bottom. The analytics firm argued that true bottoms often form when the majority expects prices to fall further.

Santiment said the ongoing online chatter suggesting the worst is over signals a move in the opposite direction. A Messari research manager also revealed that he had never seen such a dissonance between the headlines and the sentiment in his eight years in the crypto industry. 

The analytics firm revealed that BTC’s ratio of positive to negative comments is currently at its lowest level in the last 30 days. According to Santiment, Bitcoin’s social dominance surged above 40%.

Santiment also argued that Bitcoin could be bullish, citing recent spot Bitcoin ETF inflows totaling $1.17 billion over the past three trading days. The firm noted that large ETF inflows have often marked local price tops, while huge outflows have coincided with market bottoms. BTC funds recorded $866 million in net outflows on Thursday, the second-worst day on record.

Chances of a rate cut slip after the end of the government shutdown

Bitcoin has dropped this week despite U.S. President Donald Trump recently signing legislation that ended the government shutdown. The government shutdown was the longest in U.S. history, lasting around 43 days.

Crypto market participants blamed the shutdown for the recent volatility and uncertainty surrounding the U.S. Federal Reserve’s decision to cut interest rates.

Equities slowed their downward momentum Friday afternoon as investors braced for a slew of economic data next week following the reopening of the U.S. government.

Juan Perez, director of trading at Monex USA in Washington, argued that Bitcoin and crypto have generally enjoyed a positive correlation with good times in equities. He believes BTC has not become an alternative asset of value to hedge against fear in other sectors.

Risky assets have come under pressure as a growing number of policymakers signaled an inclination to hold off on easing. Kansas City Fed President Jeffrey Schmid recently expressed doubts about a December rate cut, joining other central bank officials with the same suggestion.

At the time of publication, the CME FedWatch tool data indicated that markets had priced in a roughly 44.4% chance of a December rate cut.

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Source: https://www.cryptopolitan.com/crypto-fear-greed-index-drops/