Why is Bitcoin price up today?

Bitcoin has been up approximately 2.5% in the last 24 hours, trading around $105,000 on Jan. 30, as the market continues to digest what “somewhat elevated” inflation means moving forward for the economy. Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and Bitstamp reveals that Bitcoin price rose from a low of $101,288 on Jan. 29, rising as much as 4.3% to an intraday high of $105,563 on Jan. 30.Let’s look closer at the factors driving Bitcoin price up today.Bitcoin price rallies as Fed rate decision meets expectationsBitcoin price was volatile on Jan. 29 as the US Federal Reserve kept its benchmark funds rate unchanged, which was in line with market expectations.As it happened:As expected, the Fed kept the interest rate range unchanged at 4.25% to 4.5% following the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting ending on Jan. 29.The accompanying policy statement was hawkish, with the central bank saying inflation remains “somewhat elevated.”The Fed has now taken a wait-and-see approach, leaving all options open regarding its monetary policy in the short term. Bitcoin initially declined on the news, dropping as low as $101,288, but rose as Fed Chair Jerome Powell gave his post-meeting remarks.In his comments following the meeting, Powell stated that the modification in the policy statement’s language regarding inflation was not intended to convey any particular message.Bitcoin and other top-cap cryptocurrencies moved higher following his statement, with BTC rising toward $105,000 by the end of the press conference.This rise in Bitcoin’s price rise has triggered significant liquidations in the derivatives market, signaling strong bullish pressure.Key points:Over the last 24 hours, $43.37 million worth of short BTC positions were liquidated, compared to just over $17.48 million in long liquidations.Bearish traders are forced to sell their positions when short positions are liquidated.Bitcoin’s price continued to climb toward Sunday’s highs due to the cascading liquidation effect.The scale of these liquidations mirrors Jan. 20, when $53 million in short positions were wiped out, accompanying a 10% price uptick to all-time highs of $109,000.Spot Bitcoin ETF inflows boost BTC priceBitcoin's recent price rise coincides with rising capital inflows into US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), highlighting the growing institutional demand. Key points:Spot Bitcoin ETFs have recorded inflows nine out of the last 10 days, accumulating a total of $4.3 billion in new capital.This influx of capital indicates growing investor confidence in Bitcoin as a long-term asset, particularly among institutional players who use ETFs for exposure to BTC.With increasing institutional demand for Bitcoin, the bull market cycle is well-positioned toward new price discovery in the coming weeks and months.Bitcoin’s cup-and-handle pattern targets $125KFrom a technical perspective, the pair has been forming a cup-and-handle chart pattern on its daily time frame since Dec. 17, 2024.What you need to know:A cup and handle setup is a technical formation that appears when the price falls initially, followed by a steady recovery in what appears to be a U-shaped recovery, which forms the cup. Meanwhile, the recovery leads to a pullback move, wherein the price trends lower inside a descending channel forming the handle.The pattern is resolved when the price breaks above the handle, rallying to an approximately equal size of the prior decline. The daily chart below illustrates a similar bullish technical setup in play right now.Note that trades higher inside the handle range and is eyeing breaking resistance at $106,359. A decisive daily candlestick close above the neckline could lead the BTC price to confront resistance from the $109,000 all-time high.Breaking this barrier would clear the path toward the technical target of the prevailing chart pattern at $125,000, up 18.75% from the current level.Several Bitcoin analysts agree with this outlook:Crypto Candy said that if the current momentum continues, the price might break the all-time high zone of 107,000 and 108,000 and “possibly enter price discovery.”Popular analyst Mark Cullen said, “Bitcoin at a pivotal decision point,” and BTC price must “break out of the channel and take out the equal highs” to secure the recovery.“If BTC can break out of the channel and take out the equal highs at 107,000 and hold on any pullback above 105,000, things are golden.”This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.