On today’s episode of The Market Report, analyst and writer Marcel Pechman discusses if Bitcoin (BTC) is safer than the United States dollar, considering the U.S. government’s risk of defaulting on its debt. He also covers why Bitcoin’s $28,000 resistance will not be a walk in the park and, finally, what is happening between Celsius, Ethereum and Lido staking. The show airs every Tuesday on the Cointelegraph Markets & Research YouTube channel.
The first news article covers a Bloomberg Markets survey showing Bitcoin as a top 3 asset in the event of a U.S. debt default. For Pechman, it is no surprise that Bitcoin trumps fiat currencies in investors’ picks, considering the central banks from the eurozone, Japan, Canada, England and Switzerland boosted their borrowing programs from the U.S. Federal Reserve in March 2023. There’s a high correlation to fiat currencies, putting the asset class at significant risk if a U.S. debt default happens.
Pechman predicts that investors’ allocations in gold would be 10 times higher than Bitcoin’s due to the cryptocurrency’s lower market capitalization and high volatility. On the positive side, 11% of retail investors would add Bitcoin to their portfolio in the event of a government shutdown versus 46% for gold. What are the odds of Bitcoin breaking above $100,000 in the case of a government shutdown? No spoilers; check the show.
On to the show’s next topic: Pechman discusses why Bitcoin’s $28,000 resistance will likely prove stronger than expected. The recent correction down to $25,800 was probably caused by high transaction fees, but Pechman explains that the network worked exactly as intended and high fees are the network’s defense against spamming.
The problem holding back a quick recovery above $28,000 is professional traders’ positioning using derivatives. Before the event, whales and market makers were already neutral-to-bearish.
In the final part of The Market Report, Pechman explains the $780 million Ether (ETH) movement from the Lido staking platform by Celsius — the failed crypto lending platform. No one knows if the Ether (ETH) will be sold at market and eventually paid out in U.S. dollars to Celsius creditors. Don’t miss it! The show is available exclusively on the Cointelegraph Markets & Research YouTube channel.