BTC Rises on Positive Q1 Earnings from Alphabet and Microsoft
On Tuesday afternoon, Bitcoin (BTC) rose as Alphabet and Microsoft both announced better-than-expected first-quarter earnings. Despite both equities and Treasury yields being down for the day, BTC climbed over $28,000 as investors responded to the news and the liquidation of several bitcoin short positions. As of this writing, the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization was trading at over $28,250, up 2.8% in the past 24 hours.
BTC had traded sideways most of Tuesday before its surge shortly after U.S. equities markets closed. BTC’s late surge came as both Google parent Alphabet and Microsoft announced slightly better-than-expected earnings. Data from analytics firm Coinglass also showed that some $11.3 million of BTC short positions had been liquidated since 4 p.m. ET, which historically tends to accelerate price jumps.
Following a similar pattern, Ether (ETH), the second-largest cryptocurrency by market value, rose 1.8% to change hands at around $1,869. ETH had slid as low as $1,804 on Tuesday morning, according to CoinDesk data.
Equities and Treasury Yields Down, First Republic Bank Struggles
Despite the positive news for crypto, major equity indexes closed in the red on Tuesday afternoon. Embattled First Republic Bank (FRC) had announced in its quarterly results that it had lost $100 billion in deposits, renewing anxiety about regional banks. Last month, Silicon Valley and Signature banks both imploded, with First Republic’s shares plummeting almost 50% on Tuesday.
The S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite closed down 1.5% and 1.9%, respectively, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) was down 1% for the day. In bond markets, the yield on the two-year Treasury note sank 19 basis points to 3.94%, while the 10-year Treasury yield dropped roughly 11 basis points to 3.40%.
Crypto’s Potential Shines Amid Macroeconomic Uncertainties
Despite the challenges facing traditional financial institutions, the outlook for crypto remains positive. Edward Moya, senior market analyst at foreign exchange market maker Oanda, wrote in a note on Tuesday that the outlook for tightening monetary policy was still on the table. Stefan Rust, CEO of data aggregator Truflation, also struck an upbeat note, writing in an email to CoinDesk that current macroeconomic uncertainties have again underlined crypto’s potential. “If not now, crypto will just become another technology providing rails for the existing systems they want to subject to compliance so that incumbents can maintain and manage incremental transitions, versus leapfrog into a new modern age of financial innovation without middlemen,” Rust wrote.
Conclusion
The positive earnings reports from Alphabet and Microsoft, combined with the liquidation of several bitcoin short positions, contributed to BTC’s surge on Tuesday. While equities and Treasury yields were down, the potential for crypto remains strong amid the ongoing uncertainties facing traditional financial institutions.
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