Market sentiment remained subdued on Monday, though signs of optimism emerged following reports that U.S. tariffs set for April 2 might be implemented with more restraint than initially anticipated.
Bitcoin (BTC) briefly touched $87,000 early Monday, while Solana (SOL), XRP (XRP), and Dogecoin (DOGE) all gained more than 4%, signaling a positive start to the week. Investors kept their attention on upcoming U.S. economic data, looking for signals that could influence market positioning.
Bitcoin remained near $85,000 over the weekend, limited by concerns over inflation and the broader U.S. economic outlook. Among major cryptocurrencies, SOL led the way with a 5% gain in the last 24 hours, whereas Tron’s TRX dropped 4%, extending its retreat after a memecoin-driven surge last week.
“Investors are being cautious about potential price movements given ongoing economic uncertainty,” said Nick Ruck, director at LVRG Research, in a Telegram message. “This week’s reports on U.S. consumer confidence, personal spending, and PCE inflation will provide insight into whether Americans are maintaining their spending habits or tightening budgets in response to economic shifts.”
Consumer confidence reflects how optimistic or pessimistic people feel about the economy—higher confidence typically drives more spending, while lower confidence suggests caution. Personal spending tracks the amount people are spending on goods and services, a key driver of economic growth. The Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index is a key inflation measure that tracks price changes across a range of expenses.
These reports are likely to have a direct impact on crypto markets. A strong consumer confidence reading and increased spending could signal economic stability, potentially boosting investor appetite for riskier assets like crypto. Conversely, if PCE inflation rises, it could push investors toward crypto as a hedge against inflation. However, if confidence weakens and spending slows, it may suggest economic trouble ahead, prompting market caution and a potential decline in crypto prices.
Despite these concerns, some traders argue that the U.S. economy is stronger than many assume, creating an opportunity for long-term investors to accumulate crypto at current levels.
“Despite soft sentiment indicators, the underlying economic data remains strong,” said Augustine Fan, head of insights at SignalPlus, in an email to CoinDesk. “There’s a tendency for market participants to overestimate economic weakness, but fundamentals continue to hold up better than expected.”
Fan also noted that crypto markets remained relatively quiet over the past week, mirroring broader equity trends. “Technically, the market is still in a downward trend, but key support levels are holding steady. Ethereum (ETH) is trading near the upper range of its 2022 levels, with the next major support around $1,500,” he added.
Ethereum’s market outlook comes as the network experiences a sharp drop in activity, leading to one of the lowest daily token burns in recent months.
Token burning permanently removes cryptocurrency from circulation by sending it to an inaccessible address. Ethereum introduced its burn mechanism in August 2021 as part of the EIP-1559 upgrade, which burns all base transaction fees.
However, Ethereum transaction volumes have been on the decline, as users shift toward lower-cost alternatives like Solana and Tron. In addition, speculative trading activity has slowed since late January.
On Sunday, only 50 ETH was burned—an all-time low and a sharp contrast to the 71,000 ETH burned on May 1, 2022. Daily burns have been gradually decreasing since early 2023, ranging between 500 ETH and 3,000 ETH on most days.
