Bitcoin Reaches Its Highest In More Than 2 Months
Story by: Charles Bovaird
Bitcoin prices rallied today, reaching their loftiest value since mid-November as the broader market pushed higher.
The digital currency climbed to $8,848.92 at roughly 1:15 p.m. EST, according to CoinDesk data.
At this point, the cryptocurrency was up 3.6% for the day, and was trading at its highest level since November 12th, additional CoinDesk figures reveal.
The digital asset has been following a broad, upward trend for the last several days, pushing higher after reaching a 2020 low of $6852.09 on January 3rd.
[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.]
When explaining bitcoin’s recent gains, analysts cited both technical and fundamental factors.
Christopher Brookins, founder and CIO at Valiendero Digital Assets, spoke to these developments.
“The sharp move is the confluence of uptick in fundamentals” and technicals, he stated.
“I think the bottom is firmly in,” said Brookins, pointing to the “strong uptick” in bitcoin’s hash rate and his analysis of the Hurst exponent, a momentum indicator that helps determine the strength of a trend.
PROMOTED
The digital currency was “very oversold at the end of Q4,” he added.
Joe DiPasquale, CEO of cryptocurrency hedge fund manager BitBull Capital, offered a similar perspective, also stating that bitcoin’s recent gains were “driven by a mix of fundamental and technical factors.”
“First, the digital currency appreciated during the US-Iran tensions, going from $6,860 to $8,460,” he stated.
“This move took it above our previously cited support level at $7,700.”
“Then, new developments in Craig Wright’s legal battle fueled speculations regarding him being Satoshi Nakamoto (and potentially having control over the billions worth of initially mined Bitcoins), pushing up Bitcoin SV, and by association, Bitcoin Cash and Bitcoin,” noted DiPasquale.
More specifically, there are rumors circulating that Wright has received the final keys for him to unlock the so-called Tulip Trust, which supposedly holds more than 1.1 million units of bitcoin.
Bitcoin SV has skyrocketed lately, its price up more than 90% in the last 24 hours at the time of this report, CoinMarketCap figures showed.
However, this rally is a completely “speculative move,” said Tim Enneking, managing director of Digital Capital Management.
Short-Term Outlook
Going forward, market observers might benefit from watching a handful of key price levels, noted analysts.
“Persistent buying momentum (at the moment, it looks like RSI will push towards 80) has allowed bitcoin to retest/break key resistance of $8442 and is currently completing a Kumo breakout,” said Brookins.
“If that holds, it would confirm a resumption of the bull trend,” he stated.
However, Brookins added that “in classic crypto form, bitcoin is trying to regain all of its Q4 loses in 2 weeks.”
“So, it’s overbought right now, but I wouldn’t stand in front of the train for a reversal just yet.”
“As long as $8442 (now support) holds after RSI decompresses, the bulls are in control again,” stated Brookins.
Ramak J. Sedigh, founder & CEO of Plouton Mining, also weighed in.
“A quick look at the trading volume shows a huge increase parallel to the price increases,” he stated.
“So unless we break out of the 8800 and 9000 resistance levels this is just another price manipulation – intentional or not. So it’s bound to come back to re-test the lows.”
For now, bitcoin’s recent price rally “looks too much too quickly,” he stated.
Original story: https://www.forbes.com/sites/cbovaird/2020/01/14/bitcoin-reaches-its-highest-in-more-than-2-months/#5def7a54224c
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