[Bitcoin Now] 2% Rise Following 'Synchronization' with US Stock Market Surge... Investor Sentiment 'Contracting'

[Image source=Reuters·Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] The U.S. stock market, showing a synchronization phenomenon, closed higher, leading to a rise in the price of the representative cryptocurrency Bitcoin.

According to the global cryptocurrency market tracking site CoinMarketCap, as of 10:38 AM on the 21st, the price of Bitcoin was recorded at $16,859 (approximately 21.71 million KRW), up 1.72% compared to the previous day.

The Bitcoin price showed an upward trend as buying interest at lower prices flowed in following a slight rise in the U.S. stock market. On the 20th (local time), the Nasdaq index, centered on technology stocks, closed at 10,547.11, up 1.08 points (0.01%). The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 92.20 points (0.28%) to 32,849.74, and the large-cap S&P 500 index ended trading at 3,821.62, up 3.96 points (0.10%).

However, concerns about tightening increased as the Bank of Japan (BOJ), which had maintained an easing policy and ultra-low interest rates, shifted its policy stance the day before. The BOJ expanded the allowable range for the 10-year bond yield target to ±0.5%, which the market interpreted as a signal of change.

Despite the rise in Bitcoin prices amid tightening concerns, investor sentiment in cryptocurrencies weakened. According to the cryptocurrency data provider Alternative, the Fear & Greed Index, which expresses investor sentiment as an index, fell 3 points from the previous day to 26 points (fear). Alternative's Fear & Greed Index means that the closer it is to 0 points, the more extreme pessimism investors feel, and the closer it is to 100 points, the more optimistic they are.