Bitcoin weathers September storm as rate hikes and Clarity act setback test bulls

If that’s not enough, the Dollar Index, which measures the dollar against a basket of major currencies, has topped 100, hitting its highest level in over a month. Sustained dollar strength can tighten financial conditions and weigh on risk assets, including bitcoin. Further, the Bank of Japan lifted its benchmark borrowing cost to a 31-year high.

Explaining bitcoin’s resilience to these factors, Sygnum Bank said rising interest rates and bond yields are not always bearish.

“It's not a one-way street. You see yields rising, and at the same time Bitcoin and gold outperforming. If rising rates are an indication of debasement risk and sovereign counterparty risk, then for store of value assets that is actually a positive driver,” Fabian Dori, chief investment officer at Sygnum, said in an email.

What next?

For bitcoin, the takeaway is its resilience, above $77,000, despite legislative setbacks, rising oil prices, tighter monetary policy and a stronger dollar. In other words, the path of least resistance appears to be higher.

“If the market has been this resilient when the news flow has been challenging, even a modest improvement in macro, geopolitical or regulatory conditions could provide the catalyst for the next major leg higher,” Joel Kruger, Markets Strategist at LMAX Group, said.