It is enough to say that last week was a busy one, with mixed performance in equity markets and rather weird – but promising – activity for Bitcoin. The FTSE All-Share index and the STOXX600 both recorded constant rises, while the S&P500, which started the week at 3,352, has worsened on Wednesday; after it dropped to 3,335, it has since recovered to 3.372.
Bitcoin went above the $12,000 line on Monday, only to go through a significant fall to $11,275 by Wednesday morning. However, it did not dissipate recent hopes for a bull run, as it has returned to the mid and even high $11,000s over the weekend, which suggests that we might be witnessing another new bottom for Bitcoin. Drops below the old $10,000 resistance range are improbable.
Moreover, there is a significant difference between investors strategically unwinding their positions, and the drastic, panic-driven drops that happened in March as the pandemic started.
Chainlink Had an Impressive Rise
In a week of somehow poor performance for some altcoins, Chainlink managed to continue its impressive rise upon a steady wave of industry chatter and has now ranked as the fourth largest crypto asset by market cap.
With a conference anticipated in the near future and widespread expectation of even more strategic partnerships, it keeps its status as a star performer with no end in view for its positive momentum.
What is particularly impressive is Chainlink’s dominance in the DeFi space. Now at 47 percent, it is not incomparable with Bitcoin’s 60 percent share of the whole crypto industry.
Bitcoin’s Performance is Laudable
Currently going towards $200 billion, Bitcoin’s market capitalization is definitely impressive and is closing on the comparable figures of major legacy financial businesses. It is already similar to portfolio stalwarts, including Netflix and AT&T, and an increase to the 2017 high of $300 billion would indeed be comparable to giants like Mastercard and JP Morgan Chase.
As Simon Peters, a market analyst said: “Bitcoin’s burgeoning market cap warrants careful comparison,” a match with gold would be more proper. Their similar potential, as inflation brushes over, makes them a more real pairing and one that the industry should watch closely – more so when we begin to face the long-term effects of quarantine taking a tool on economies across the world.
For anyone who doesn’t believe in Bitcoin’s hedge potential, this week offered yet another wake-up call. Nasdaq-listed business analytics firm MicroStrategy confirmed that it had purchased $250 million of the crypto asset, mentioning its ‘superiority [to cash] for those seeking a long-term store of value.’
As Bitcoin’s steady increase continues, it is worth keeping in mind that a high Bitcoin price can sometimes create a psychological barrier for the retail investor. Similar to how investors get fractional shares, crypto-asset investors can keep fractions of Bitcoins, or Satoshis. However, the fact remains that numerous retail investors will want whole Bitcoins, and the price of getting them is moving further out of reach.
Ethereum Hits an All-Time High
Ethereum managed to get to an unprecedented high of $6.87 million on Wednesday. This milestone is to be anticipated, as Ethereum remains the go-to platform for Dapps. As ETH 2.0 is slowly developed, it is probable that those all-time high fees will decrease.
The Proof-of-Stake system means that users on the platform won’t have to compete with each other to carry out transactions. The Ethereum team has also released impressive documentation on how to stake, which is a great move.
“Ethereum fees hit an all-time high, but a fall could be on the horizon,” David Derhy, a market analyst, said.
In the meantime, Ethereum Classic keeps operating in ETH’s shadow as it lost a lot of momentum in the fork. It is somehow expected to see commentators calling for ETC to follow suit and swift to Proof-of-Stake soon.
