The Bitcoin markets in the Americas are experiencing a rebound, fueled by US economic hopes and President Trump’s enthusiasm for the cryptocurrency. As the Federal Open Market Committee meeting approaches, investors are eagerly awaiting Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s outlook on interest rates.
Your day-ahead look for Jan. 29, 2025
By James Van Straten and Shaurya Malwa
Each new day under the Trump administration is as intriguing as the next, and Wednesday is shaping up to be no different.
Trump’s Bitcoin Enthusiasm Spreads Across Globe
The president’s enthusiasm for bitcoin is spurring other countries to take a look at the asset. Most recently, Czech National Bank Governor Aleš Michl said he will present a plan to add billions of euros worth of bitcoin to the bank’s reserves. If approved, the institution would become the first Western central bank to hold BTC as a reserve asset.
Market Outlook
Markets seem to have shaken off concerns over the Chinese DeepSeek AI program, with bitcoin back over $102,000. U.S. equities are shy of a new all-time high as Nvidia (NVDA) stormed back with an almost double-digit increase.
NVIDIA is an American technology company founded in 1993 by Jensen Huang, Chris Malachowsky, and Curtis Priem.
The company specializes in designing graphics processing units (GPUs) for the gaming market, but has expanded to other areas such as artificial intelligence, high-performance computing, and autonomous vehicles.
NVIDIA's GPUs are used in various industries, including 'gaming, scientific research, and professional visualization'.
According to a report by Statista, NVIDIA's revenue reached $26.9 billion in 2020.
What to Watch
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Ice Open Network (ION) mainnet launch on Jan. 29
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Crypto.com suspending purchases of certain cryptocurrencies in the EU due to MiCA regulations, starting from Jan. 31
Macro Events
The Federal Open Market Committee meeting later today will be closely watched, with expectations that the benchmark fed funds rate will be held at 4.25%-4.50%. The question is whether Fed Chair Jerome Powell will give a hawkish or dovish outlook, which could have a knock-on effect on asset prices.
Jerome Powell has been serving as the Chairman of the Federal Reserve since February 2018.
He was nominated by President Donald Trump and confirmed by the Senate in a 51-47 vote.
Prior to his appointment, Powell served as a Member of the Federal Reserve Board from 2012 to 2014.
As Chairman, he plays a crucial role in shaping monetary policy, including setting interest rates and regulating banks.
Token Events
Ai16z has rebranded to ElizaOS to establish a professional identity and avoid trademark issues with Andreessen Horowitz (a16z). Uniswap teased its forthcoming v4 in an X post, bumping the UNI token up 7%.
Uniswap is a decentralized cryptocurrency exchange (DEX) that allows users to trade cryptocurrencies in a trustless and permissionless manner.
Launched in September 2018, Uniswap uses an automated market maker (AMM) model to facilitate trades without the need for order books or traditional exchanges.
With over $1 trillion in trading volume, Uniswap has become one of the largest DEXs globally.
It supports a wide range of cryptocurrencies, including Ethereum-based tokens and others.
Derivatives Positioning
The open interest-adjusted cumulative volume delta (CVD) indicator shows major cryptocurrencies, except Mantra’s OM token, have seen net selling pressure in the perpetual futures market in the past 24 hours.
Market Movements
BTC is up 2.21% from 4 p.m. ET Tuesday to $102,509.74, while ETH is up 2.7% at $3,134.98. The CoinDesk 20 is up 0.47% to 3,733.87.
Crypto Equities
MicroStrategy (MSTR) closed on Tuesday at $335.93 (-3.45%), while Coinbase Global (COIN) closed at $281.82 (+1.38%).
