Bitcoin volatility hit a 13-month high in May amid sharp fluctuations. (Photo illustration by Edward … [+]
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Bitcoin prices had a wild May, experiencing sharp gyrations while they lost close to half their value in a matter of weeks.
The digital currency’s annualized 30-day volatility reached 116.62% on May 24, its highest since April 10, 2020, data provided by asset manager Blockforce Capital reveals.
This particular measure climbed to its loftiest reading in more than 13 months shortly after bitcoin made two separate attempts to break through the $30,000 level, CoinDesk data shows.
The digital asset fell to roughly $30,000 on May 19, and then after recovering to nearly $42,000 a few days later, it declined once again, dropping below $31,200, additional CoinDesk figures reveal.
[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.]
Bitcoin experienced some strength earlier in the month, approaching $60,000 on May 8 and trading near that price level for a few days.
However, the world’s most prominent digital currency encountered some inevitable volatility, breaking through the $50,000 and $40,000 levels, before making attempts on $30,000.
By the time it reached its intra-month low of approximately $30,200, it had declined more than 47% from its May high of more than $59,500.
Bull Market
While bitcoin did suffer some notable price declines last month, which helped fuel the digital asset’s volatility, these developments took place after the cryptocurrency experienced some very impressive gains.
The digital asset rose to nearly $65,000 in April, setting a fresh, all-time high more than triple the size of the prior high of nearly $20,000 reached during the 2017-2018 bull run.
Further, bitcoin rose to this latest high after bottoming out near $3,000 in late 2018, languishing during the so-called crypto winter, where digital asset prices suffered and industry projects struggled to get the funding they needed.
As for where the digital currency will go next, it’s anyone’s guess, but many market observers have been pointing out that this bull run is different from the last one, driven by separate set of circumstances.
Whereas the sharp price gains that bitcoin enjoyed in 2017 and early 2018 were attributed to variables like retail interest and particularly strong sentiment, institutional investors have been credited with playing a key role in the digital currency’s upward movement during the current bull market.
Disclosure: I own some bitcoin, bitcoin cash, litecoin, ether and EOS.
