(Kitco News) – The cryptocurrency market ended the week in the same way it traded for the past four days – with volatility – as Bitcoin’s (BTC) price experienced a 4% intraday price swing while consolidating around support at $68,000. 

For stocks, it was a day of recovery as the major indices regained some of the ground that was lost in a late-afternoon sell-off on Thursday sparked by Minnesota Fed President Neel Kashkari, who suggested the Fed may not cut interest rates at all this year if inflation remains elevated. 

Stock prices recovered despite a blowout jobs report in the U.S., which recorded an increase of 303,000 jobs in March, significantly higher than the expected 200,000. This, along with several recent inflation prints that came in higher than expected, and growing tensions in the Middle East, have investors on edge and have made the Federal Reserve’s decision on interest rates that much more difficult. 

Despite the threat of longer for higher interest rates or a possible hike, the S&P, Dow, and Nasdaq finished the day in the green, up 1.10%, 0.85%, and 1.20%, respectively. 

Data provided by TradingView shows that Bitcoin bears took control of the price action in the early hours of Friday, smashing its price from a high of $68,780 to a low near $66,000 before bulls managed to regain control and push it back above $67,500.  

BTC/USD Chart by TradingView

At the time of writing, Bitcoin trades at $67,703, a decline of 0.33% on the 24-hour chart. 

Rate cut uncertainty leads to volatility

“Bitcoin is currently navigating through a symmetrical triangle formation, hovering without a definitive direction,” said analysts at Secure Digital Markets. “After a bounce from the triangle’s lower edge near $64,500, the momentum is expected to propel us toward a recent peak of $72,000.”

“With the ETF market witnessing solid inflows and the looming supply shock anticipated by the market, a breakout above this pattern, leading to new all-time highs, seems likely in the near term,” they added. “In terms of ETF movements, the scene remains bullish with net inflows hitting $106.8 million, while Grayscale’s outflows were comparatively modest at $79.3 million.”

While Bitcoin is showing strength, altcoins risk falling lower, they noted, highlighting the struggling price of Ethereum (ETH). 

“The ETH/BTC ratio, an indicator often associated with altcoin market leadership when on the rise, is teasing recent low levels,” the analysts said. “This underperformance by ETH could hint at a growing cautious sentiment and a dampening enthusiasm for altcoins.”

“March saw a remarkable surge in trading volumes, with spot trading on centralized exchanges jumping 108% to $2.94 trillion – the highest since May 2021 and marking the sixth consecutive monthly rise,” they noted. “Derivatives trading volumes also soared by 86.5% to a record $6.18 trillion, though their share of the total crypto market dipped slightly to 67.8% from February’s 70.1%, the lowest since December 2022.”

Addressing the turbulence in the broader financial market, Secure Digital Markets analysts noted that “The reported increase of 303,000 nonfarm payrolls in March, outstripping the 212,000 forecast, and a dip in the unemployment rate to 3.8% underscore the market’s resilience but also complicate the prospects for rate cuts.”

“Neel Kashkari’s comments on inflation and rate adjustments underscore a cautious stance towards easing monetary policy, especially without clear indications of inflation stabilizing,” they added. “Although Kashkari’s influence in the Federal Open Market Committee is noted, his voting power won’t come into play until 2026. Meanwhile, Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s remarks earlier in the week reflect a careful approach to interest rate decisions, with the Fed taking its time to assess inflation trends fully, keeping the timeline for any potential rate cuts uncertain.”

Altcoins end the week in the red

Only two dozen tokens in the top 200 recorded gains in a volatile day of trading on Friday. 

Daily cryptocurrency market performance. Source: Coin360

Yield Guild Games (YGG) led the gainers with an increase of 20.71%, while NEAR Protocol (NEAR) climbed 8.6%, and Toncoin (TON) gained 7%. Meme coin cat in dogs world (MEW) led the losers with a decline of 27.7%, followed by a loss of 20.3% for Aragon (ANT), and a decline of 19.4% for Biconomy (BICO). 

The overall cryptocurrency market cap now stands at $2.52 trillion, and Bitcoin’s dominance rate is 52.7%.