Market Wrap: Bitcoin Flat, Holding Around $33,000

Bitcoin was flat, holding around $33,000, after falling for two straight days. The largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization is now in its eighth straight week of trading roughly sideways.

Analysts said bitcoin trading was buoyed along with assets in traditional markets by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell‘s assurances that he’s still not seeing “substantial further progress” on an economic recovery – signaling that the U.S. central bank isnt likely to dial back monetary stimulus anytime soon.

Powell‘s comments come after Tuesday’s U.S. Labor Department report that inflation accelerated in June by the fastest pace in 13 years. Bitcoin is seen by some investors as a hedge against inflation because of the cryptocurrencys fixed supply schedule.

What helped cryptocurrencies turn positive was the broad-based rally on Wall Street. The Fed seems stubbornly dovish and willing to tolerate a few more months of surging pricing pressures before considering a change of tune over the transitory/persistent inflation debate.

• Cryptocurrencies:

• Bitcoin (BTC) $32,787.2, +1.62%

• Ether (ETH) $1,986.1, +3.19%

• Traditional markets:

• S&P 500: 4374.3, +0.12%

• Gold: $1827.1, +1.04%

• 10-year Treasury yield closed at 1.344%, compared with 1.41% on Tuesday

Stay tuned!