Bitcoin touched $64,000 on Monday morning in the Asian session with a 0.5% overnight gain. However, this daily gain has not yet offset its weekly decline. The largest cryptocurrency is still posting a decline of nearly 3% over the last seven days.
A similar pattern of movement affected top-tier altcoins. Ether edged up slightly over 1% toward $1,900, but its seven-day performance remains down 1%. Meanwhile, XRP stayed stagnant, trading around $1 throughout the weekend.
Amid the flat market conditions, HYPE from the Hyperliquid ecosystem stole the spotlight. The token surged over 3% to reach $59 early in the week. This price rally pushed HYPE’s weekly gains to nearly 9%, making it the only major crypto asset to record significant weekly gains while other assets slumped.
Nick Ruck of research firm LVRG Research assessed that the crypto market is currently still in a stagnant phase around $63,000. He noted that inflows into ETF products are starting to fade, a signal indicating the lack of remaining optimism among market participants after weathering last week’s selling pressure.
Why the Dollar Is Pulling Back
Outside of the crypto market, the U.S. dollar also continues to face pressure. The Bloomberg U.S. Dollar Index slid 0.1%, marking its third consecutive day of losses to reach its lowest point since May. The weakening of the fiat currency stands in contrast to the MSCI emerging markets currency index, which instead set a record in intraday movement.
This shift in the dollar’s direction stems from Friday’s U.S. retail sales report, which plunged at its sharpest rate in over a year. The data sent a clear message: U.S. consumers are putting the brakes on their spending amid uncertainty.
This economic slowdown immediately altered bond traders’ calculations. Swap markets are now pricing in only a 25% chance of the Fed raising interest rates at next month’s meeting. This probability has halved from the 50% bet recorded last week. As a result, U.S. Treasury values responded by moving higher across the yield curve.
What Investors Are Awaiting This Week
The sluggish crypto price movement early this week is likely a sign of caution from both institutional and retail investors. They are still waiting for two key events. First, the release of the minutes from the July 28-29 FOMC policy meeting on Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time. This document will provide clear clues on how close the monetary policy committee is to a final decision to raise interest rates.
In addition to traditional economic data, crypto market participants are also awaiting a special digital asset industry meeting at the White House this week, which has the potential to become a catalyst for price movement.
For investors looking to deploy capital, entering the market today is akin to a bet: whether Wednesday’s central bank document and the White House’s political maneuvers have enough strength to revive a risk appetite that has already waned.
Reported from CoinDesk.
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Disclaimer: This article is for informational and educational purposes only, not financial advice. Cryptocurrency assets are highly volatile and carry significant risk. Always do your own research (DYOR) and never invest more than you can afford to lose.
