Bitcoin exceeds $28k on tech earnings, short positions

Bitcoin was recently trading at more than $28,250, 2.8 per cent higher in the last 24 hours

Bitcoin (BTC) exceeded $28k as investors appeared to react to marginally encouraging Q1 earnings from tech leaders Google’s parent Alphabet and Microsoft and the liquidation of several bitcoin short positions.

Bitcoin was recently trading at more than $28,250, 2.8 per cent higher in the last 24 hours. The crypto had traded sideways most of Tuesday prior to soaring shortly before U.S. equities markets closed.

Bitcoin’s late rise came as Google parent Alphabet and Microsoft marginally exceeded analysts’ expectations and data from analytics firm Coinglass showed that around $11.3mln of bitcoin short positions had been liquidated since 8:00 pm GMT. These types of short squeezes have traditionally tended to speed up price surges.

Ether (ETH) followed a similar pattern and increased 1.8 per cent to trade at nearly $1,869. It dropped as low as $1,804 on Tuesday morning, as per data from CoinDesk.

Major equity indexes finished in the red Tuesday afternoon a day after embattled First Republic Bank (FRC) stated in its quarterly results that it had lost $100bln in deposits, renewing worries about regional banks. In April, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank both imploded. On Tuesday, First Republic’s shares tumbled nearly 50 per cent.

The S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite finished 1.5 per cent and 1.9 per cent lower, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) was 1 per cent lower for the day.

In bond markets, the yield on the two-year Treasury note dipped 19bps to 3.94 per cent, while the 10-year Treasury yield declined nearly 11bps to 3.40 per cent.

This deep into earnings season, it appears the outlook is not too bad and that should mean the (Fed) can continue on their tightening course with the risks of a June raise still continuing, Edward Moya, senior market analyst at foreign exchange trader Oanda, stated in a note Tuesday.

After this round of earnings and the most recent consumer confidence report, the one thing that everyone can agree upon is that personal consumption is going to be much weaker going forward, he further said.