Continuing the rally that began three weeks ago, Bitcoin shot up again during the past seven days to get very close to a price of US $9,000 per coin. As sourced online information suggests, this price increase might have been driven by whale activity on currency exchanges, although no official confirmation is currently available. However, despite the positive run, market signals now indicate that the bullish momentum is weakening, opening the door for a correction on this new price gain.
As Forbes reports, no clear explanation can be given at this moment about who is driving the price upwards. What is evident is that the long-term technical signals have finally turned bullish – something we last saw during last May. Bitcoin’s rivals Ethereum, EOS, Ripple, and Bitcoin Cash have likewise grown over the past week, marking gains that can be counted in double digits.
Still, some analysts predict that the price will naturally pull back after climbing so rapidly over the past two-three weeks. According to Bloomberg analyst, Mike McGlone, market signals suggest that the price rally may be “running too hot”. But one thing’s for sure, the “crypto winter “seems to finally be over.
Selling Mode On
The past seven days brought us another price rally for Bitcoin as the cryptocurrency broke off from its weekly low point of $7,533.20 last Thursday to reach $8,892.50 this Monday evening. Just like during the previous weeks, it’s evident that the price increase was driven by a high 24-h trading volume, which even exceeded $30 billion at the time of the highest price point. As of now, the trading volume has subsided to $23.7 billion, showing a slight drop in interest, while the market capitalization has now reached $15.4 billion.
As our technical analysis shows, the bullish pressure has subsided and bears have stepped onto the scene, hoping to capitalize on Bitcoin’s stunning gains during the past weeks. Out of 12 technical oscillators, 7 have turned bearish, with 8 out of 12 moving averages also sending “sell” signals. The SMA 100 is still over the SMA 200, though, showing that the path of least resistance is still upwards. With short-term signals likewise mirroring the bearish mood, we can only conclude that Bitcoin is up for a small price correction as it has been the case after every sudden price boost. But long-term, the coin looks set for new highs.
Hackers Ransom Baltimore Government for Bitcoin
In other notable news from the past week, hackers attacked the computers of Baltimore’s government, demanding ransom paid in Bitcoin. According to the Guardian, the city of Baltimore was attacked on May 7th, when the government’s network of computers was infected with ransomware viruses. Responding to the attack, the city took down its online systems and services and reportedly still remains unable to receive and send-emails.
The ransom sought for unlocking the computer network is 13 Bitcoins, or approximately $110,500 in current BTC/USD value. In their ransom note, the hackers made it clear that they have been watching the city’s computers “for days” and have obtained “full access” to the network that allowed them to bypass any restrictions placed.
Since the local government refused the payment, the computers of approximately 7,000 people still remain locked, disabling online services offered by the city. Local residents are having problems to pay tickets and water bills and submit applications while real estate services have shifted to a “manual” system. The city is expected to slowly recover all available services – a process that may last for months according to officials. Meanwhile, FBI is investigating the attack.