Bitcoin (BTC) Price Consolidation, Shiba Inu (SHIB) Developments, and More: Bits Recap May 20

TL;DR

• Bitcoin (BTC) experienced notable volatility early in the month but has recently stabilized around $67K.
• Ethereum (ETH) saw a substantial 5.6% increase over the past week, currently trading around $3,100, with predictions of further significant gains in the coming months.
• Shiba Inu’s Shibarium witnessed a rise in daily transactions and transaction volume, coinciding with recent network upgrades enhancing functionality and wallet compatibility.

How’s BTC Doing?

The price of the primary cryptocurrency did not start the month on the right foot, briefly plunging below $58,000. Over the next few weeks, it experienced enhanced volatility, rising above $65K and dropping to $60K. However, its price condition looks much more stable as of the moment, consolidating around the $67K mark for the past three days.

The latest rally started on May 15, shortly after the US Bureau of Labor Statistics  released  the Consumer Price Index (CPI) data. The total CPI clocked in at 3.4%, meeting previous expectations.

The Federal Reserve aims to decrease annual inflation to 2%. To achieve that goal, it has enforced numerous policies, including rate hikes. The central bank previously  hinted  at a pivot, but it remains unknown if that will happen before mid-summer. 

The next Federal Open Market Committee Meeting is set for June 12, and it will be interesting to follow what the Fed announces. 

ETH Price Outlook

The second-largest cryptocurrency in terms of market capitalization – Ethereum (ETH) – also witnessed a substantial uptick in the last week. It currently trades at around $3,100 (per CoinGecko’s data), a 5.6% increase on a 7-day scale. 

Some industry participants recently predicted that the asset’s price would pump much more significantly in the following months.

The X user World of Charts argued that ETH had broken the falling wedge pattern consolidation in the 12-hour timeframe. The falling wedge pattern is largely accepted as a bullish pattern characterized by a wide top and subsequent contraction as the price moves lower, as can be seen on the following chart.

$Eth

Finally Breaks Falling Wedge Consolidation In H12 Timeframe Trend Is Already Up And Expecting Continuation Towards 4500$ In Coming Weeks #Crypto #Eth #Ethereum pic.twitter.com/e6NWIqwGgc

— World Of Charts (@WorldOfCharts1) May 16, 2024

CryptoYoddha was even more bullish,  expecting  a price explosion towards the $10,000 milestone before the end of 2024.

SHIB Advancements

The popular meme coin is well in the green on a weekly basis, too, with its uptrend coinciding with some rising metrics related to its ecosystem.

Last week, SHIB aggregated daily volume, where each transaction exceeds $100,000, reached $223 million (a whopping 2,300% increase compared to the figure observed the day before). 

The project’s layer-2 blockchain solution – Shibarium – also experienced a revival. As CryptoPotato  reported  on May 16, daily transactions on the network surged to almost 18,000, a 193% rise compared to the data on May 15.

Officially launched last summer, Shibarium is designed to enhance the functionality and scalability of the Shiba Inu ecosystem. It also aims to lower transaction fees and improve speed. 

Not long ago, the network  underwent two important upgrades to enhance user experience and enable compatibility with popular wallets, including MetaMask, Coinbase Wallet, and Trust Wallet. Those curious to learn more about Shibarium, feel free to take a look at our dedicated video below: