07:39 AM EDT, 07/08/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The biggest cryptocurrencies were mixed Monday as investors search for an end to declines of more than 20% since a first-quarter high, eyeing Federal Reserve monetary policy as a potential salve.

Bitcoin was down 0.4% in the past 24 hours to trade at $57,166, data compiled by CoinMarketCap showed. Ethereum increased 0.9%, to trade at $3,038. The second-most popular cryptocurrency has lost more than 12% of its value in the past seven days.

The global crypto market cap decreased 0.3%, to $2.11 trillion. The CoinDesk Market Index, which tracks digital assets, was down 0.3% in the past 24 hours.

Absent the US central bank's loosening monetary policy, there is a risk of a "grind lower" in bitcoin prices, Stefan von Haenisch, head of trading at OSL SG Pte, was cited by Bloomberg as saying.

Crypto investors will be keen to hear from Fed Chair Jerome Powell in his semiannual monetary policy testimony Tuesday before the Senate's banking committee and Wednesday before the House Financial Services Committee.

In addition to Powell's testimony, this week's data schedule includes Monday's read on Consumer Credit for May from the Fed. On Thursday, investors will watch the June consumer-price inflation release at 8:30 am ET.

On Friday, producer-price inflation will be released, along with consumer sentiment data from the University of Michigan.