What a weak for Bitcoin and the Clan.
Tuesday’s $5,920.72 low was a moment of truth, not only for Bitcoin, but for the cryptomarket in general, with the cryptobears seizing the opportunity to dominate the news wires in the early part of the week.
Goldman Sachs coming out to say that most, if not all of the existing cryptocurrency prices will hit zero, referencing the dot.com bubble and the collapse of first to market players who ultimately gave way to the likes of Amazon.com and Google that dominate the market today.
The talk of zero seemed to have little impact on investors however, with focus being more heavily biased towards regulatory chatter than a single opinion that may or may not become a reality down the road. After all, the 90s is quite some time ago and some of today’s innovative platforms have already made progress in the real world, with others ready to hit the market.
Bitcoin managed to close out the week at $8,886.89, an 8.5% gain from Monday’s opening $8,190.78 and more importantly, up 50.1% from Tuesday’s $5,920.72 low.
Relative to its peers, the gains were less impressive, but were nonetheless an important one for the cryptomarket, with Bitcoin being the barometer for many investors. This is largely reflected in Bitcoin’s dominance numbers through the week, which eased from 35.9 to a current 33.6%, as investor appetite for the altcoins improved through the second half of the week and into the weekend.
Fake news was certainly a contributory factor to last Tuesday’s woes, with hackers able to manipulate the markets at ease it seems. Cyber security will need to be ramped up to protect the market and investors and that may be where governments and regulators can step in, without destroying the evolution of blockchain technology that is likely to become a major element of everyday life.
The good news for the market has been the rise in total market cap, which sits at $458.05bn at the time of writing, up from a lowly $276.82bn last Tuesday.
Going into the weekend, Bitcoin managed to touch a Saturday high $9,090.8 in the early hours, which has led to some impressive early risers going into the weekend.
Ripple is making a splash, surging 21.59% to $1.119 this morning, easing back from an intraday high $1.15977, with Stellar Lumens and Cardano also making double digit rallies this morning, though neither have been as impressive as Ripple.
It’s ultimately going to boil down to how successful the respective platforms will be in the real world and with crypto risk appetite returning, it’s not that surprising that Ripple is on the move.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin was up just 2.63% to $8,922.24 in the early part of the day and, with Cboe Bitcoin future’s February contract closing the week at $8,610, how far Bitcoin can go remains to be seen, with Friday’s close likely to be a hindrance that others are free from.
This is not the first weekend rally of the year, but it could be the first to push through to Monday’s open, if investors are able to hold their nerve and not go for the sell button.
