CME Ethereum futures go live, Bitcoin caps its best week ever: 5 things to watch

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CME Ethereum futures go live, Bitcoin caps its best week ever: 5 things to watch this week

Bitcoin (BTC) bulls seem firmly in the driving seat this week as the largest cryptocurrency begins Monday at near $40,000.

After climbing through much of the previous week’s trading, BTC/USD is now up 15% compared to seven days ago — what’s next?

Cointelegraph takes a look at five factors which may influence where Bitcoin heads in the coming few days.

Stocks hit records but dollar declines
Bitcoin’s ascent prior to the weekend was accompanied by a familiar scenario on macro markets.

Despite Coronavirus and its fallout continuing to wreak havoc on many economies worldwide, stock markets hit new all-time highs, with the S&P 500 closing its biggest weekly gain since last November. Oil climbed above $60 a barrel for the first time in more than a year on Monday.

The mood was buoyed the prospect of fresh spending in the United States as lawmakers looked to finalize the details of President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus package.

As Bitcoin proponents have consistently noted since the start of the pandemic and before, more spending means more money concentrated closer to the government and central bank — a phenomenon known as the “cantillon effect” — paving the way for continued interventions in stock markets among other areas.

At the same time, the U.S. dollar has suffered in recent days, part of an ongoing narrative which states that the world’s reserve currency will continue to decline.

The U.S. dollar currency index (DXY) abruptly fell below 91 on Monday, reversing its recent uptrend, which had begun in mid-January.

https://cointelegraph.com/news/cme-ethereum-futures-go-live-bitcoin-caps-its-best-week-ever-5-things-to-watch-this-week