We’re starting off this week at relatively unchanged stance, with the price of Bitcoin fluctuating mildly within the $915-920 range. But what’s interesting to note is that the trading interest saw a significant drop during the weekend session without pulling back the price along with it. But whether the market will remain predominantly pro-buy and influence the price even more, we are still to see.
Other interesting news that reached the Bitcoin world this week is an article from the Business Insider, covering Bitcoin’s value as an asset, just like gold’s. Namely, the business portal talked to CEO of BTC China, Bobby Lee, who spoke of Bitcoins as a “great hedge” against the centralized monetary system, due to its radical difference from “fiat money”, i.e. traditional regulated paper currencies.
Lee believes that Bitcoin will continue to thrive, despite regulatory obstacles like the recent fees imposed by the Chinese government, with the help of increased interest from other markets. He also addresses the “notoriety” of Bitcoins, of which he says that, statistically, the US dollars have been much more frequently linked to drugs and crime, and that it was all a matter of “narrative”.
Bitcoin Consolidating; Bulls Keep Pushing
This weekend was one of the slowest for the Bitcoin trading market since year start, with virtually little to no changes noted since our last update on Friday. The only significant price change was brought early this morning, when the price had a small burst of volatility and went down to $908.83, while its highest point was on Saturday, when it hit $917.72.
Volume-wise, things have been looking very slow, as the trading volume went on a gradual decline since Saturday and is now remarkably low, at $59,488,700. The market cap, on the other hand, is at $14.9 million. As always, low trading volume gives little hope of major upticks.
Our technical analysis shows that the market is predominantly pro-buy, although not entirely, as there are signs of seller pressure still left. Out of 12 moving averages, 8 send a buying signal, with 5 out of 12 oscillators showing the same. But with the Stochastic showing no strong clues and the SMA100 dropping down below the SMA200, the next path is hard to predict.
Overall, the conclusion is that the price will keep consolidating, will small increases possible thanks to the persistent buyer pressure. But at this time, it will be all up to the next change of winds.
California House Owner Profits $1 Million from Bitcoin House Sale
In other interesting news, one unidentified home owner from California made $1 million dollars from accepting to sell his house in Bitcoins, just before the December price increase took the price over $1,000 per BTC. According to the report, the lucky seller managed to lock in a sizable profit due to the high and unpredictable price increase, the likes of which haven’t happened since 2013.
The selling price for the house was $4 million, and the real estate developer selling it was reluctant first, so he went to consult with the CCO of the Bitpay exchange. After he understood the nature of the cryptocurrency and the logistical steps, he negotiated with the prospective buyer an asking price of $4million, which was to be paid in BTC.
But the interesting twist is that when the two parties initiated the transaction, Bitcoins had a price of $750 per 1BTC, while by the end of it, the price reached over $1,000 per 1BTC. This, in turn, gave the seller of the house an extra profit of over $1 million.