Fed Predicts Recession: Buy Bitcoin and Ethereum?

The US Federal Reserve has predicted a recession, and the IMF predicts a sluggish global economy. Is now the time to buy Bitcoin and Ethereum? Let’s consider their performance so far this year and analysts’ forecasts.

Federal Reserve meeting minutes suggest that the US banking crisis will likely push the economy into a recession this year. 

The March meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee also took note of the potential fallout from the failure of Silicon Valley Bank and wider problems, despite Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr stating that the banking sector is still “sound and resilient.” 

Internationally, things look gloomier still. The IMF has forecast global growth will drop from 3.4 percent in 2022 to 2.8 percent this year. Advanced economies are expected to experience a significant decline in growth, falling from 2.7 percent in 2022 to 1.3 percent in 2023.

With clouds on the horizon—if not a storm—is now the right time to buy Bitcoin and Ethereum?

Bitcoin

Bitcoin has had a promising year so far. The markets started 2023 with low expectations, rolling into the new year amid slowing global growth and after the most catastrophic year in crypto history. However, the price has pumped 65% since the beginning of the new year. The coin was also Q1’s best-performing asset. Although, momentum has stalled somewhat, with the price mostly bouncing around the $28,000-$30,000 boundary since mid-March.

Yaroslav Ivanov, strategic director at ALTA, is uncertain whether the bears have left the market. Ivanov thinks that investors may be misled by the good start to the year and preaches caution. He predicts a slim possibility of Bitcoin’s value reaching $40,000 by the end of 2023. While also stating that a potential decline could be viewed as a chance to acquire Bitcoin at a reduced price.

Meanwhile, a trader-analyst at Vekus Mining Development, Denis Trapezenko, predicts that Bitcoin will start 2024 at levels close to current prices, and expects its price to move within the support and resistance zones of $19,592-$48,700 until the end of 2023.

Ethereum

Industry experts have made various price predictions for Ethereum in 2023, with Raoul Pal, the CEO of Real Vision Group, predicting it could reach $20,000. Although most other analysts have been far more conservative. According to crypto trader Michael van de Poppe, Ethereum could surge to a range of $2,700 to $3,000 in the coming months.

Twitter analyst ”Wolf” believes that Ethereum could hit $3,500 by the end of the summer of 2023. In an April 3 tweet, Wolf criticized “bullish bias” and said any pullbacks in Bitcoin’s climb are “simply temporary” and “do not alter my overall perspective.”

ETH has risen approximately 53% so far this year, but its ascent has been marked by dips in February and March. The price currently sits at approximately $1859. 

Ethereum is also the leading platform for developing smart contracts and DeFi applications. Its performance in the market is generally reflective of the wider adoption of DeFi and Web3. This month, the platform’s total value locked (TVL) hit record highs of nearly $10 billion, according to L2Beat.