Well, isn’t this interesting? Just when you thought the world’s two biggest economies were stuck in a never-ending trade spat, something shifted. Folks met up in Geneva last week. They talked. And guess what? They actually cut some taxes on goods.
- Beijing and Washington reduced tariffs on each other’s goods, signaling a potential thaw in trade tensions. This move positively impacted the cryptocurrency market.
- Positive economic news, including trade deals and regulatory developments, boosted investor confidence in digital assets. Bitcoin and Ether experienced significant price increases.
- Experts predict continued growth for both Bitcoin and Ether, with Ether potentially outperforming Bitcoin in the near future. Price targets of $150,000 to $200,000 for Bitcoin in 2025 are being discussed.
Beijing decided to drop its taxes on U.S. stuff way down, from a whopping 125% to just 10%. Washington did the same for Chinese imports, lowering their taxes from 145% to a much less painful 30%. It’s like they decided to be friends again, at least for 90 days. These changes kicked in on May 14th, according to the official word from the White House.
So, what happens when the big guys play nice? Markets tend to perk up. The whole cryptocurrency market cap saw a little bump, just 1%. Bitcoin nudged past $104,100. Ether hit $2,500. It wasn’t a wild party, but things were definitely looking greener.
Other coins, the ones folks call altcoins, like XRP and ADA, also traded higher. The GMCI 30 Index, which tracks a bunch of these digital assets, went up over 2%. It felt like a small sigh of relief across the board.
It wasn’t just crypto feeling good. Stock futures in the U.S. for things like the S&P 500 and Nasdaq jumped up over 2% before the market even opened. That’s a pretty clear signal that investors liked the news. Gold, which had been doing great lately, actually dipped 3%. It seems when the world feels less risky, people move money out of safe spots like gold and into things that might grow faster.
Arthur Hayes, a guy who knows a thing or two about markets and runs something called Maelstrom, didn’t waste any time. He saw the trade tensions easing and got pretty excited about crypto. He went right to X, that social media place, and told everyone to “buy everything.” Simple enough advice, right?
buy everything.
https://x.com/cryptohayes/status/1921824044183433640?s=46&t=TMI07H21nqgKjjcESnhqEQ
Why would easing trade tensions be good for crypto? Dr. Kirill Kretov, an expert over at CoinPanel, explained it. He said it supports a “risk-on environment.” Think of it like this: when things feel safer in the big world of money, people are more willing to take chances on things like crypto. Lower taxes on goods also mean less pressure on prices (inflation) and more money flowing around (global liquidity conditions). Both of those things are generally seen as good news for Bitcoin and other digital coins.
Markets Look Up
This trade deal wasn’t the only good news floating around last week. The overall picture for the economy, what the fancy folks call the macro landscape, was getting better. And that really helped digital assets.
President Donald Trump announced a trade deal with the United Kingdom. That’s another big piece of the global economy sorting things out. More certainty in trade often makes investors feel better.
Then came some news from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). These are the folks who watch over national banks. They said banks can actually buy and sell crypto for their customers. Not only that, but banks can also hold onto crypto assets for people, using other companies to help them do it. This is a pretty big deal because it could make it easier for large financial companies to get into crypto. And when big money gets interested, things tend to move.
Bitcoin shot past $100,000 right after these updates came out. It was a clear reaction to the positive vibe. Ether also had a great day, its best in four years. It got a boost from the good economic news and also from a smooth upgrade to its network, called Pectra. No bugs, no drama, just a solid improvement.
Even though Bitcoin and Ether saw big price jumps then, how much their prices bounced around (volatility) stayed about the same for a bit. But that started to change, especially for Ether. Dr. Sean Dawson, who heads up research at a place called Derive.xyz, looked at the numbers.
Bitcoin’s volatility, how much its price swings, went up a little over seven days, from 37% to 42%. Dr. Dawson said this showed Bitcoin was moving up gradually, not in wild swings. It was a steady climb.
But Ether was a different story. Its volatility went way up, from 52% to almost 90%. Imagine the price jumping around like crazy! It settled down a bit after that, just over 80%. This big jump in volatility means people expect Ether’s price to make much bigger, more explosive moves soon.
Dr. Dawson also thinks Ether has a better chance now of hitting the $4,000 mark again. He even thinks it might do better than Bitcoin for a while. As for Bitcoin, he said $150,000 is a reasonable price target for next year, 2025. But he also mentioned that $200,000 isn’t out of the question either. It’s like saying the goal is here, but the finish line could be even further out.
He wrapped it up by saying the market feels hopeful again. The way prices are jumping around suggests both Bitcoin and Ether are getting ready for some big moves in the next few months. With bigger companies getting involved and the overall economy looking more stable, the outlook for the rest of the year seems pretty good for crypto.
