Bitcoin Price, XRP Inch Higher. Why the Crypto Rally Is Stalling. — Barrons.com

By Adam Clark

Bitcoin and most other cryptocurrencies were posting small gains on Wednesday. The announcement of a U.S.-Japan trade deal appeared to fuel appetite for risk assets but cryptos weren't the biggest beneficiaries.

While futures on the Nasdaq 100 rose 0.2% in premarket trading, the sentiment boost didn't really translate to cryptocurrencies, which were posting small gains. That could be down to crypto's strong recent rally — Bitcoin is up more than 10% in July, while popular altcoin XRP has climbed 55% over the same period.

Bitcoin's price was up 0.1% over the past 24 hours early on Wednesday, at around $118,345 but down from its 24-hour high of above $120,000. The world's largest cryptocurrency hit a record high of $123,166 last week amid excitement over crypto-related legislation championed by the Trump administration.

Several large altcoins were rising. Ether gained 0.8%, XRP rose 0.1%, and Solana climbed 1.3%. However, memecoin Dogecoin was down 2.5%.

While the U.S.-Japan deal has little direct effect on the cryptocurrency market, reduced trade tensions could increase confidence in investing in volatile assets, such as cryptocurrencies.

Meanwhile, there continue to be signs of further interest in cryptocurrency from traditional financial institutions. PNC Financial Services Group and Coinbase Global said Tuesday they will partner and offer services to each other. PNC will use the "Crypto-as-a-Service" platform of Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the U.S., to offer crypto access for its clients.

Write to Adam Clark at adam.clark@barrons.com

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