Wall Street braces for earnings and retail sales reports – now what about crypto?

Wall Street is getting ready for a big week as corporate earnings reports and retail sales data take center stage.

Investors are hungry for more signs of the U.S. economy’s strength after recent gains in equity markets. The benchmark S&P 500 is set to post its fifth straight weekly gain, soaring over 21% this year.

While everyone’s waiting to see if traditional markets hold strong, the crypto market, seemingly completely overlooked by mainstream analysts, is just as important to watch.

The question isn’t whether Wall Street is going to react to earnings or retail sales reports. That’s a given. The question is what crypto investors and traders might do next, especially when Bitcoin and Ethereum seem to be sitting tight in consolidation.

The impact of earnings on stocks

Earnings season is kicking off with giants like American Express, Netflix, United Airlines, and Procter & Gamble lined up to report.

JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo have already surpassed expectations, causing their stocks to jump. These reports give an inside look at U.S. consumer spending, which makes up more than two-thirds of the economy.

Crypto markets respond to the same macroeconomic pressures. If consumers aren’t spending, you can bet Bitcoin is going to feel the ripples.

Goldman Sachs lowered recession odds to just 15% after recent employment data. Though job layoffs in the financial and tech sectors, hurricanes in the Southeast, and a brief dockworkers strike have made the consumer environment less predictable.

Over the next two weeks, over 150 companies in the S&P 500 will report their earnings.

What’s happening with Bitcoin?

BTC is trading at $62,622, gaining 0.32% over the last hour. Price has been fluctuating between resistance at $62,700 and support around $62,159.

Short-term trends are bullish, with the price above the 50-hour moving average, which is currently at $62,159. The 200-hour moving average, a longer-term trend indicator, sits just above the price at $62,700.

Volume trends are also showing cautious optimism. The On-Balance Volume, which tracks buying and selling pressure, is rising, suggesting accumulation.

In the Bitcoin derivatives market, trading volume has dropped by 27.50% to $31.28 billion. Open interest, which measures the number of outstanding contracts, has also declined by 1.68% to $34.68 billion.

These declines signal reduced activity, likely due to macroeconomic uncertainty over the earnings reports.

The options market is also seeing less action, with volume dropping by 48.89% to $480.87 million. Still, open interest is holding steady, which means traders are still in their positions, waiting for the next signal.

The long/short ratio on Binance for BTC/USDT is 1.2523, indicating a slight bullish sentiment. In the past 12 hours, $9.80 million in short positions have been liquidated, compared to $6.98 million in longs, catching many bearish traders off guard.

Wall Street volatility bleeds into Ethereum

Ethereum is following a similar path. Its price is currently at $2,459, up 0.14% in the past hour. Ethereum has seen a price spike, hitting $2,462 before pulling back slightly.

Like Bitcoin, Ether is above its 50-hour moving average ($2,434) but just below the 200-hour moving average at $2,458. This suggests a bullish short-term trend but resistance in the longer term.

Ethereum’s OBV is also showing rising buying pressure, supporting the idea of an ongoing accumulation phase.

Its derivatives market volume has dropped by 28.74% to $10.24 billion, with open interest down by 2.36% to $11.38 billion.

The options market tells a similar story, with volume falling by 20.54% to $123.35 million, while open interest is up slightly by 0.60% to $4.79 billion.

The long/short ratio for ETH/USDT on Binance is 2.2658, showing a strong bullish bias. On OKX, the ratio is even higher at 2.54, meaning that Ethereum traders are betting heavily on a breakout.

Liquidations data shows that Ethereum bears are getting squeezed. In the past hour, $653.41K worth of short positions were liquidated, compared to only $663.43K in longs.

So yes. Wall Street’s focus is clear — earnings and retail sales — but crypto traders are playing it cool. Everyone’s watching.