Both Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) have been on a prolonged uptrend and have been gaining popularity, with BTC breaching $21,000 and ETH crossing the $1,500 mark recently.
The rise in cryptocurrency usage has been attributed to a variety of reasons, such as the positive China GDP numbers released last year. Investors have reacted to this data and have actively pursued trades within the market.
In reality, everything has been working in favor of digital assets, including better-than-expected China GDP figures, increased Bitcoin blockchain activity, cooling inflation, and growing institutional crypto adoption.
Furthermore, the United States was regarded as one of the most welcoming countries for people looking to spend their cryptocurrency on shopping, which has played a significant role in supporting cryptocurrency prices.
With the US retail sales figures set to be released today, investors and traders in the crypto space are paying close attention. The figures will provide insight into consumer spending and confidence, which could have a significant impact on the direction of the market.
With trading volumes up significantly from last week, it is clear that investors are anticipating a shift in market sentiment due to these figures.
According to a survey conducted by Bloomberg, it is expected that there will be a 0.8% decrease in retail sales - this would be the biggest drop since 2022 and it would mark the 3rd decline in four months.
Excluding auto and gas, retail sales are projected to dip by 0.2%, the first time there will have been two consecutive months of declines since April/May 2021. Auto sales were below expectations, and the average cost of unleaded gasoline fell by 7.5% for the sixth month in a row.
Analysts
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