The crypto market is off to a good start at the start of the year, with leading cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum. The first half of the crypto market ended with a green streak. The price of Bitcoin is unpredictable; BTC experienced a 10% growth rate in its value in 2023. On Feb 5, the Bitcoin market opened at $23,362 and gained 0.13% in the past 24 hours. It has increased by more than 1.5% from the past week.

On the other hand, Ethereum hit a $1,666 trading volume, up by 3.47% in the past seven days. On Monday, Ethereum developers released progress on the network’s next upgrade Shanagi, which is expected to launch by March. This new Ethereum upgrade will help the users to withdraw their Ether staked from the past few years systematically and securely.

Crypto analysts believe that the largest cryptocurrency Bitcoin is far away from turning everyone bullish. A crypto analyst Smart Contractor alerted BTC’s short-term trajectory. He said, “Fuck it, I am out and chilling in stables for now. Was a good start to the month but I reckon BTC sweeps $22,000 and fuck knows what that will do to alts.”

On the other hand, the CEO of Morgan Creek Capital Management Mark Yusko said the BTC bull market will start soon due to favorable macroeconomic conditions. He believed that “crypto summer is likely to start in the second quarter of 2023,” due to Fed policies and anticipation of the Bitcoin halving.

Yusko said, “The market always anticipates the halving. Nine months before that is usually when the beginning of summer starts.”

US Federal Reserve raised the interest rate by 25 bps

According to CoinMarketCap, the crypto market closely followed the US equities market in 2022. Investor confidence in cryptocurrency is at an all-time low, and the global economic outlook is not showing signs of moving beyond the Covid-recovery mode.

High-interest rates had a huge impact on stocks, investors and cryptocurrencies. Due to high-interest rates, cash flow in the economy has slowed down. The United States central bank has raised interest rates by 25 basis points or 0.25% in a bid to tame record-high inflation. Analysts predict future interest rates will rise by 50 basis points or 0.50 percent.

The Fed said that “Inflation has eased somewhat but remains elevated.” In Wednesday’s conference, Powell said that he expected an economic growth rate this year.

“My base case is that there will be positive growth this year,” Powell said.