Major cryptocurrencies rose on Sunday evening as Bitcoin surged back to $70,000 marking the close to an end of a positive first quarter for traders.

What Happened: Over the Easter weekend, Bitcoin saw an increase of approximately $1,000, seemingly influenced by remarks from Jerome Powell, the Chair of the United States Federal Reserve.

During an interview at the Macroeconomics and Monetary Policy Conference in San Francisco, California, Powell expressed a calm stance regarding both inflation and the economic outlook.

The Federal Reserve, he emphasized, is not rushing to implement interest rate cuts. “Currently, the economy is strong, the job market is robust, and inflation has been decreasing,” he said. “We have the ability and intention to approach this decision cautiously—because we have the ability to do so.”

June is currently the market’s top prediction for the first rate cut, with a 61% chance of a 0.25% reduction at the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting that month, according to data from CME Group’s FedWatch Tool.

Top Gainer (24 Hour)

The global cryptocurrency market cap now stands at $2.65 trillion, showing a 0.39%  decrease in the past 24 hours.

Stock futures increased slightly on Sunday evening as Wall Street geared up for the beginning of the second quarter.  Futures linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average went up by 110 points, or 0.3%, while S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq-100 futures rose by 0.3% and 0.5%, respectively.

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Analyst Notes: Cryptocurrency analyst Michael Van de Poppe said that Bitcoin is currently consolidating, with potential real movements expected to begin on Tuesday. "If $67K holds, I’ll suggest we’ll have a final ATH test pre-halving."

Benjamin Cowen, the founder of Into The Cryptoverse said, “The BTC dominance train is about to leave the station.”

Daan Crypto Trades, another analyst, thinks that if there’s a successful breakout, BTC prices could potentially reach $80,000.

Ali Martinez, an on-chain analyst, pointed out that Bitcoin is displaying a head-and-shoulders formation on the 30-minute chart. "Should BTC maintain its position above the 200EMA and surpass the neckline resistance at $71,580, we could anticipate a potential increase of 4.44%, targeting a price of $74,760."

Photo by Avi Rozen on Shutterstock

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