Bitcoin (BTC) marginally increases, trading above $110,000 on Thursday after three consecutive days of declines this week. Altcoins, including Ethereum (ETH) and Ripple (XRP), offer subtle signs of recovery at the time of writing, building on improving sentiment following United States (US) President Donald Trump’s meeting with China’s Xi Jinping in South Korea.

The highly anticipated meeting between US President Trump and China’s President Xi in South Korea on Thursday yielded several outcomes. Top among the decisions the two leaders made are lower tariffs on Chinese goods (from 47% to 47%), no bottlenecks on rare-earth metals, and the resumption of soybean purchases from the US.

President Trump said they signed a one-year agreement that will be extended. President XI will also visit the US soon, while President Trump will head to China in April.

Markets, including crypto, rebounded following the meeting, with Bitcoin ending higher above $110,000. On the other hand, Ethereum eyes a breakout above $4,000 while XRP subtly builds momentum above $2.50.

The Federal Reserve (Fed) cut interest rates by 25 basis points on Wednesday to a range of 3.75% to 4.00%, as broadly expected. Despite the optimism ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP led the broader cryptocurrency market into a sharp correction on Wednesday.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s comments after the meeting cast doubts on the next rate cut in December, saying it’s not a foregone conclusion.

“In the committee’s discussions at this meeting, there were strongly differing views about how to proceed in December,” Powell stated. “A further reduction in the policy rate at the December meeting is not a foregone conclusion. Far from it.”

Market participants had largely priced three rate cuts this year, but Powell’s outlook of no further rate cuts in the next cycle dampened sentiment. 

Bitcoin holds above $110,000 at the time of writing on Thursday amid a tug-of-war between the bulls and the bears. The 200-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA) at $108,350 on the daily chart provides additional support, likely encouraging investors to increase their risk exposure.

The Money Flow Index (MFI) indicator in the same daily range is rising above 58, suggesting that money is flowing into Bitcoin. A steady trend toward overbought territory would bolster Bitcoin’s bullish case.

Traders will watch for a daily close above the $110,000 round-number level to ascertain Bitcoin’s recovery potential heading into the weekend. Key milestones include sustaining a rebound above the 100-day EMA at $112,620 and the 50-day EMA at $113,096.

BTC/USDT daily chart

Ethereum’s technical outlook is weakening despite easing trade tensions between the US and China. The smart contracts token recovery has rejected the 100-day EMA at $3,968, hinting at a lack of conviction among investors that recovery is sustainable. This is despite the MFI showing that more money is flowing into Ethereum, as observed on the daily chart.

Traders should be cautiously optimistic, particularly if Ethereum fails to close the day above the 100-day EMA at $3,968. Price action above $4,000 may signal a bullish weekend. Other key levels of interest for traders include the range high at $4,250 and the range low at $3,680. 

ETH/USDT daily chart

As for XRP, bulls are battling to breach the 200-day EMA resistance at $2.60 after rebounding from support at $2.48 earlier in the day. The MFI is approaching the midline on the daily chart, pointing to steady risk-on sentiment.

XRP/USDT daily chart

A daily close above the 200-day EMA would pave the way for an extended leg up, targeting the 50-day EMA at $2.67 and the 100-day EMA at $2.72. A subsequent breakout above the descending trendline on the daily chart, in place since XRP reached a new record high of $3.66 in mid-July, would reinforce the bullish potential toward the critical $3.00 level.