Bitcoin Ticks Along Above $34K

Bitcoin (BTC) has started the week in the same buoyant mood that saw it gain around 15% last week. The world’s largest cryptocurrency has held steady above $34,000 in Asian and European trading hours, sitting at just over $34,500, up about 1% in the last 24 hours. The CoinDesk Market Index (CMI), a broad-based tracker of hundreds of tokens, is up around 1.4% on the day and over 11% in the past week. The crypto market’s upward trajectory has been carried by enthusiasm at the prospect of a BTC spot ETF finally being approved in the U.S., though this week eyes may turn to the Fed’s interest-rate decision. “While a pause seems the most likely scenario, with cuts seemingly still a while away, crypto watchers will no doubt be seeing this as another pivotal milestone as the crypto winter continues to thaw,” Simon Peters, a markets analyst at eToro wrote in an emailed bulletin. Should crypto’s rally hold firm against a neutral Fed announcement, it could be a sign of further thawing and increased resilience in digital assets.