Bitcoin, Ethereum Technical Analysis: ETH Hits 3-Week High Ahead of FOMC Minutes

Ethereum rose to a three-week high on Jan. 4, as markets prepared for the release of the latest Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) minutes. Wednesday’s report will likely show the U.S. Federal Reserve’s view on the economy, and further detail its reasoning behind a policy pivot. Bitcoin was also higher, rising to an eight-day high.

Bitcoin (BTC) rose to an eight-day high on Wednesday, as cryptocurrency markets climbed ahead of the latest FOMC minutes release.

Following a low of $16,622.37 on Tuesday, BTC/USD raced to an intraday high of $16,886.14 earlier today.

The move saw BTC rise above a key resistance level of $16,800, which is typically the last hurdle preventing price from reaching $17,000.

As can be seen from the chart, today’s surge in price has sent bitcoin to its highest point since December 27, when it traded at $16,961.

Traders will likely attempt to move above $17,000 ahead of or directly after the release of the minutes report.

The rally comes as the 14-day relative strength index (RSI) moves above its own ceiling at 49.00, and is currently tracking at 50.37.

Like BTC, ethereum (ETH) also surged in today’s session, with prices climbing to a multi-week high.

ETH/USD rose to a peak of $1,253.12 earlier in the day, which comes less than 24 hours after trading at a low of $1,207.49.

As a result of today’s move, ethereum broke out of a resistance level at $1,230, hitting its highest level since December 16 in the process.

Looking at the chart, the surge came as ETH broke out of its resistance level on the RSI at 50.00, and it is currently tracking at 55.73.

This shift in momentum comes as the 10-day (red) moving average neared an upwards crossover with its 25-day (blue) counterpart.

Should this cross take place, we will likely see ethereum move above the $1,300 mark in the upcoming days.

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Do you expect ethereum to hit $1,300 this week? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.