Bitcoin has had a good start to this new year. (Photo by Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
NurPhoto via Getty Images
Bitcoin has shown some impressive strength lately, rising to a new record price above $48,000 and then holding on to most of its recent gains.
The world’s most prominent digital currency reached $48,226.25 around 2 a.m. EST, according to Fintech Zoom data.
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At this point, bitcoin was trading at a fresh, all-time high and was up 66.7% from the start of the year, additional Fintech Zoom figures show.
After climbing to this level, the cryptocurrency experienced some modest volatility, falling back to nearly $45,000 close to 8 a.m. EST.
Since then, bitcoin has been fluctuating mostly between $45,000 and $47,000, and it was trading at $46,992.56 at the time of this writing.
[Ed note: Investing in cryptocoins or tokens is highly speculative and the market is largely unregulated. Anyone considering it should be prepared to lose their entire investment.]
Bullish Outlook
The digital currency has experienced some compelling upside in 2021, and so far, it has managed to retain the bulk of those gains.
Amid this backdrop, several analysts offered bullish commentary on where the world’s most prominent digital currency might go next.
Marouane Garcon, managing director of crypto-to-crypto derivatives platform Amulet, spoke to the relative modesty of bitcoin’s latest pullback, describing it as “an indicator that we’re not finished.”
“This could very much be a year-long bull run because the momentum from major institutions and public companies is showing no signs of letting up,” he said.
Jesse Proudman, CEO of crypto hedge fund Strix Leviathan, offered a similar point of view, stating that:
“Strong buying pressure potentially manifested from the ‘corporate Bitcoin treasury narrative’ has buoyed prices through these recent short-term pullbacks and there is strong demand for Bitcoin in these markets.”
“That last two quarters seem to track in a similar vein to early 2017 market behavior,” he observed.
“Outside of broader macro events, it seems as if markets have room to run.”
Jeff Dorman, chief investment officer of asset manager Arca, also weighed in.
“As long as the dollar remains under pressure, and interest rates stay below 1.50-2.00%, and new entrants continue to enter the digital assets market… we believe this will be a ‘buy the dip’ year,” he predicted.
“There will be dips,” Dorman emphasized. “Bitcoin definitely has more staying power than ever before, but that doesn’t mean prices can’t go lower.”
“The key will be how Bitcoin reacts to dips, not how it reacts to positive news, as there is a lot of leverage and momentum trading driving the moves higher right now.”
Nicholas Pelecanos, head of trading at NEM, also offered his two cents, stating that:
“With this being the first considerable correction since the Covid sell-off in March 2020, it leads me to suspect this bull market is just getting started.”
“In short, the price action we have witnessed on a whole is characteristic of a Bitcoin bull market, and I expect further increases over the coming weeks and months.”
Disclosure: I own some bitcoin, bitcoin cash, litecoin, ether and EOS.
