Bitcoin, Ethereum and other major coins rose Wednesday night, as the global cryptocurrency market cap increased 2% to $923.5 billion at press time.

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Why It Matters: The apex cryptocurrency showed signs of consolidation around the $21,000 mark on a day when the U.S. Federal Reserve released its June policy meeting minutes laced with a hawkish tone. 

“Participants concurred that the economic outlook warranted moving to a restrictive stance of policy, and they recognized the possibility that an even more restrictive stance could be appropriate if elevated inflation pressures were to persist,” according to the minutes.

Bitcoin and Ethereum's price action shrugged off the bankruptcy of the lending platform Voyager Digital LLC (OTC:VYGVF) along with market contagion fears on Wednesday in intraday trading.

“Bitcoin is consolidating above $20,000 at time of writing, whilst negative sentiment remains among market participants,” said GlobalBlock analyst Marcus Sotiriou.

Sotiriou cited CoinShares data and noted that $51 million flowed into ProShares Short Bitcoin Strategy ETF (NYSE:BITI). 

“This product bets against the price of Bitcoin, showing that institutions are bearish on the asset,” wrote Sotiriou. However, he said it could also be because it is the first of its kind that allows them to do so. 

The dollar continues to surge. The dollar index, a measure of the greenback’s strength against six other currencies, was just off its 20-year peak on Wednesday at 106.46, reported Reuters. 

Michaël van de Poppe said the dollar is still “shooting upwards” while treasury yields are consolidating. The cryptocurrency trader said Bitcoin is “sustaining here and looking ready for a big move relatively soon.” 

Van de Poppe said “cracking” the  $20,200-20,400 level is critical for the apex coin for making a move towards the $22,400 and $23,000 next.

Former hedge fund manager and television host Jim Cramer tweeted it was “time for crypto” on Wednesday. 

His tweet came a day after he questioned the “real value” of cryptocurrencies and said they were “imploding.”

Cryptocurrency trader Justin Bennett said the current uptick in Bitcoin is a relief rally, adding that $21,000 was a resistance area and to “keep an eye on it” for the next few days. 

Stakers have deposited nearly 13 million ETH into the Ethereum 2.0 contract — with 62% of the inflows taking place before the coin’s November all-time high, tweeted Glassnode.

The on-chain analytics firm said, “With [ETH] prices collapsing over 78%, and coins unable to be withdrawn, only 17% of staked $ETH is now in profit.”

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