Bitcoin’s USD price has climbed over $9,000 at the start of this week, marking a $1,000+ increase from 7 days ago. After a whole month of price drops and small upswings, the biggest cryptocurrency by market capitalization has finally pulled away from the $8,000 range and is now heading towards $10,000.
According to Forbes, the price reversal is due to two major factors: tech updates and big investments. With Bitcoin’s lighting network improved and new regulatory changes for ICOs in the US, Bitcoin has appeared on the radar of major investors. As the US government is moving towards regulating security tokens (tokens issued as stock shares of a startup during an ICO campaign), big-time investors are stepping in to enter the market.
Thus far, we’ve heard that Soros Fund Management and the venture capital firm Venrock – tied to the Rockefeller family – are to invest in the sector. With Georg Soros and the Rockefeller Empire being part of the cryptocurrency ecosystem, digital currencies are becoming more legitimized and attractive to large investors.
Price Approaching Psychological Level; Will Bulls Keep Pushing?
The past week was a wild ride for Bitcoin as the cryptocurrency rose approximately 20% during this time. From a price point of $8,186.30 in the early hours last Thursday, Bitcoin managed to reach a peak of $9,732.61 right after midnight today.
Looking at the market charts, it’s not hard to deduct that the reason behind the uptick was a boost in trading volume. After a volume increase pushed the price upward before last weekend, another rally boosted the volume up to $10 billion early today, allowing the price to push past $9,700. As of now, the volume is climbing towards $11.5 billion, hinting at a faster price change, while the market cap is at $160.5 billion.
Our technical analysis shows that the market remains pro-buy, with 10 out of 12 oscillators and all 12 moving averages being in the buy zone on a 5-hour time-frame. Daily and weekly price charts show that the current market direction is looking healthy, with the RSI and MACD being in the green zone on both charts. However, the gap between the SMA 100 and the SMA 200 is narrowing, hinting there could be a crossover. If the high volume and buying momentum sticks and pushes the price above the psychological $10,000 level, we’ll likely see a push over $11,000 over the next weeks.
Traditional Assets Drop While Bitcoin Grows
As the cryptocurrency is moving away from its worst quarter, which sliced off nearly 48% from its value, other financial markets seem to be doing the opposite. As reported by CNBC, the Dow Jones industrial average (DJI) closed over 400 points lower yesterday while the Nasdaq composite (IXIC) and the S&P 500 Index (INX) dropped by 1.7% and 1.3%, respectively.
A similar trend was observed with other major cryptocurrencies, which likewise had a better performance this week than the broader financial markets. Each of the top 10 coins by market capitalization were trading higher yesterday. Ethereum saw a particular growth of 10% during last week, outperforming other top cryptocurrencies.
As Bitcoin showed that it is not tied to traditional assets and that it can grow significantly, it naturally drew the attention of both financial companies and investors like Soros. Reportedly, Goldman Sachs is now hiring a cryptocurrency staff member while data from a Reuters survey from this week shows that 1 in 5 companies are considering crypto-trading for the next year. And as the number of traditional players increases, cryptocurrencies could slowly transition into the mainstream.