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Bitcoin (BTC) brushed off fresh United States macro data into the Nov. 30 Wall Street open as traders focused on the monthly close.

PCE keeps Fed pivot pressure alive

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC price movements sticking to a narrow intraday range below $38,000.

After a failed breakout the day prior, hopes were high that the Federal Reserve’s “preferred” inflation metric, the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Index, would help fuel volatility.

This, however, had not come to pass at the time of writing, with November’s final Wall Street open still to come.

PCE came in broadly in line with expectations — a boost for the Fed’s monetary tightening and reinforcement of declining inflation.

Bitcoin (BTC) may hit $100,000 in one year’s time thanks to “earlier than expected” exchange-traded funds (ETF) launching, says Standard Chartered.

In a research note issued on Nov. 28 quoted by sources including Business Insider, the banking giant doubled down on its bullish BTC price targets.

Standard Chartered still expects six-figure BTC price

Bitcoin is in line to trade at six figures by the end of 2024, the latest forecast from Standard Chartered concludes.

Thanks to the United States potentially approving Bitcoin spot price ETFs, BTC/USD has the ability to almost treble from its current $37,700 over the coming 12 months.

“We now expect more price upside to materialize before the halving than we previously did, specifically via the earlier-than-expected introduction of US spot ETFs,” Geoff Kenrick, Standard Chartered’s head of EM FX Research, West and Crypto Research, wrote.

The demand for institutional investors for Bitcoin (BTC) became evident on Nov. 10 as the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) Bitcoin futures flipped Binance’s BTC futures markets in terms of size. According to BTC derivatives metrics, those investors are showing strong confidence in Bitcoin’s potential to break above the $40,000 mark in the short term.

CME’s current Bitcoin futures open interest stands at $4.35 billion, the highest since November 2021 when Bitcoin hit its all-time high of $69,000 — a clear indication of heightened interest. But is it enough to justify further price gains?

CME’s remarkable growth and the spot Bitcoin ETF speculation 

The impressive 125% surge in CME’s BTC futures open interest from $1.93 billion in mid-October is undoubtedly tied to the anticipation of the approval of a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). However, it’s important to note that there’s no direct correlation between this movement and the actions of market makers or issuers. Cryptocurrency analyst JJcycles raised this hypothesis in a Nov. 26 social media post.

To avoid the high costs associated with futures contracts, institutional investors have various options. For instance, they could opt for CME Bitcoin options, which require less capital and offer similar leveraged long exposure. Additionally, regulated ETF and exchange-traded notes (ETN) trading in regions like Canada, Brazil and Europe provide alternatives.

It seems somewhat naive to believe that the world’s largest asset managers would take risky gambles using derivatives contracts on a decision that depends on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and is not expected until mid-January. Yet, the undeniable growth in CME Bitcoin futures open interest is hard evidence that institutional investors are setting their sights on the cryptocurrency.

The crypto market is down today as a slew of regulatory enforcement events weigh on Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) and altcoin prices. The markets continue to reel since the Nov. 21 Department of Justice (DOJ) settlement against Changpeng “CZ” Zhao and Binance to the tune of a $4.3 billion fine.

Price action across the crypto market remains tilted to the downside as investors and money managers further digest the potential fallout from increased regulatory actions taken against the industry.

US-led regulatory pressure against crypto is in full-steam-ahead mode

The cryptocurrency industry and regulators have a long history of not getting along either due to various misconceptions or mistrust over the actual use case of digital assets.

On Nov. 21, the DOJ announced enforcement actions and a settlement related to CZ and Binance in which both pleaded guilty.

According to the settlement, Binance will pay $4.3 billion in fines, and CZ will pay $159 million in penalties. The settlement covered civil regulatory enforcement actions by government departments, including the U.S. Treasury and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

Bitcoin (BTC) shrank back from resistance after the Nov. 29 Wall Street open as United States gross domestic product (GDP) figures beat expectations.

GDP sets tone for macro-sensitive crypto

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView followed a familiar BTC price retracement on short timeframes.

Bitcoin bulls had managed to propel the market above $38,000 the day prior, only to flip-flop around that level before ultimately dropping as U.S. macro data hit.

This showed Q3 GDP accelerating beyond anticipated levels, coming in at 5.2% versus 4.9%.

This renewed concerns over how the United States Federal Reserve might handle policy ahead of an interest rates decision in mid-December.

Bitcoin (BTC) held momentum at $38,000 on Nov. 29 as analysis warned over market corrections.

Bitcoin meets macro data, Fed’s Powell at key price point

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC price trajectory continuing to aim for new 18-month highs.

After matching current highs the day prior, the largest cryptocurrency surprised by keeping a grip on higher levels as futures markets hit $39,000.

Already a topic of debate, the excitement on derivatives led some to caution that large-volume traders could still leave late long positions stranded at the top.

In commentary overnight, Keith Alan, co-founder of monitoring resource Material Indicators, told traders to be wary of these “whale games.”