Bitcoin Quiet in Asia at $29.3K as Market Hunts for Catalyst

Bitcoin (BTC) declined slightly to $29,300, but remained largely stable following the U.S. government's report on the July Consumer Price Index (CPI), which showed better-than-hoped year-over-year inflation rates.

July's CPI was higher by 0.2% versus expectations for 0.2% and 0.2% in June. On a year-over-year basis, CPI was higher by 3.2% versus expectations for 3.3% and 3.0% in June. The core CPI was up 0.2% in July, also meeting expectations and the same as June.

Core CPI year-over-year was higher by 4.7% against forecasts for 4.8% and 4.8% in June.

The leading cryptocurrency by market value attempted a very modest rally in the hours following the report, but mostly remained in the area around $29,300 throughout Asia trading hours, lower by 0.36% over the past 24 hours. The CoinDesk Market Index (CMI) was off 0.19% over the previous 24 hours.

Bob Iaccino, co-founder and chief market strategist of Path Trading Partners, said on a recent CoinDesk TV appearance that, there’s still a gap between people’s perception of wage growth and inflation.

“Inflation is the rate of growth of prices, and although it's increasing at a slower rate now, it's still positive. This gap means people are complaining about wages because they haven't caught up to inflation yet," he said.

Regarding bitcoin and the crypto market, Iaccino expressed optimism and emphasized the need to make understanding and involvement in the crypto world more accessible.

"I'm quite positive about Bitcoin, especially after BlackRock's endorsement. It seems to signal that Bitcoin will be around long enough to create an ETF,” he continued. “Despite mixed feelings in the short to medium term, I honestly couldn't be more positive about the asset right now."

There’s a lot of talk about this coming bull market and upswing, but the question is… wen?Matrixport's proprietary Bitcoin Greed and Fear Index, which measures investor sentiment, is signaling a potential bullish revival in bitcoin prices, as CoinDesk reported earlier Friday Asia time.

The index uses above 90% readings to indicate greed or excess optimism, and below 10% to represent extreme fear or pessimism, with these extremes often marking trend reversals.

The latest data shows the index has moved from 30% to 60%, indicating a rebound from July's slide from above 90%.

Markus Thielen, head of research and strategy at Matrixport, noted that the index appears to have bottomed out and is projecting upside pressure, with signs of renewed upside volatility in Bitcoin.

Bitcoin is now boring, and some have said that it’s lost both its bark and bite.

Shiba Inu (SHIB) tokens have seen a return of around 20% over the past week, outperforming other major cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and ether, as CoinDesk noted Friday.

Trading volumes reached $315 million in a 24-hour period on Thursday, the highest since February.

The gains are attributed to increased developer activity on Shiba Inu and anticipation for the launch of Shibarium, a Shiba Inu-based blockchain, later this month.

Recent bullish sentiment is also linked to developers' plans to tie digital identity verification, known as self-sovereign identity (SSI), to all Shiba Inu developments, positioning it as a more serious and compliant project.

Shibarium is expected to focus on metaverse and gaming applications, particularly as the non-fungible token (NFT) sector is anticipated to grow, with the testing blockchain showing significant activity in recent months.