Bitcoin Overtakes Amazon Again — A Symbolic but Bullish Signal for Crypto

Bitcoin has once again surpassed Amazon in a metric that’s more aesthetic than fundamental, but still a sign of the strong momentum in the broader crypto market — and $BTC in particular. The weekend brought encouraging signals, and as Asian markets reopened, Bitcoin added another 2%, positioning itself once again near its all-time highs.

Ethereum and the rest of the sector are following the same path, kicking off a week that — despite historically low volumes and important macro data ahead — begins under the best possible conditions.

A Week That Starts in the Sunshine

Few expected it — and perhaps that’s exactly why Bitcoin and crypto found a relatively clear path for this latest rally, which came partly over the weekend and partly with the reopening of Asian exchanges, which also showed notable enthusiasm.

Bitcoin is now trading above $122,000, just a step away from its new all-time high. Ethereum has pushed above $4,300, reclaiming another step toward its own record.

The altcoin market is also performing well overall, signaling a broader increase in risk appetite, further boosted by macro conditions that currently appear favorable for markets.

Macro Conditions in Focus

However, these conditions will need confirmation during a week filled with potentially market-moving data.

Tuesday, 14:30 — U.S. Inflation Data
On Tuesday, August 12 at 14:30, markets will focus on the latest U.S. inflation report. This remains a key concern for the Federal Reserve and is currently the biggest obstacle to the long-awaited interest rate cuts.

Market Expectations
Below are the market forecasts compared to the previous reading for both headline CPI and Core CPI, with the latter being more significant. Expectations point to a slight increase from the last report, in line with Federal Reserve projections.

What would markets prefer? A weaker reading, closer to the Fed’s 2% target, would likely be welcomed.

Still, this release is not decisive. Before the next FOMC meeting, there will be another inflation reading in September, along with other important labor market data. It’s also worth noting that this is not the Fed’s preferred inflation metric — that title belongs to the PCE index.

In any case, traders should be cautious, as markets tend to show heightened volatility around these releases.

Other Data This Week

• Thursday: U.S. Producer Price Index (PPI) and jobless claims.

• Friday: Key data from Japan, including GDP at 01:50 (Italy time), with modest growth expectations.