After falling below $10,000 and reaching as low as $7,400 over the past month, Bitcoin and the rest of the market showed a recovery over the weekend. While Bitcoin has corrected since reaching $10,000, several altcoins kept steaming ahead, including Bitcoin Cash, which rose around 7% over the past 24 hours (as of the time of writing) to reach price levels not seen in over a month. Last week, several factors impacted the market, and this week may also have some interesting events that could affect cryptos.
Today’s Highlights
- Bitcoin rising
- Zuckerberg face congress again
- Earnings could impact cryptos
The Bitcoin Spike
Over the weekend, cryptos went on a bull run, starting with a 22% spike in Bitcoin’s price on Saturday, pushing it above $10,000. While there’s usually not one single factor that drives prices, the recent bull run coincides with reports out of China, saying the government is placing a stronger emphasis on blockchain technology. In some circles, Bitcoin and blockchain are nearly synonymous, which explains why we saw a major spike in searches for both terms on popular Chinese search engine Baidu.
The growing interest also led to other cryptos popular in China to climb, including NEO, XRP, ETH and TRX.
Of the larger cryptocurrencies, the most noticeable gains were registered by Bitcoin Cash, which rose more than 24% for the week.
Libra in DC (again)
Last Wednesday, Facebook Founder and CEO once again went to Washington in an attempt to win at least some decision-makers’ approval regarding the Libra project. Zuck met with a lot of resistance on the Hill, as the majority of congressmen that interrogated him about his company’s crypto project were less than enthusiastic about the idea. However, despite meeting resistance, it doesn’t seem that Facebook’s leader is slowing down, and Libra is still moving ahead.
The Week Ahead
It’s been a while since the crypto market showed a swing as bullish as the one seen over the weekend. However, there’s no way to know if this was just a temporary uptick, driven by overly-hyped expectations from China, or the start of another bull run. Bitcoin has since fallen from the monthly $10,000 peak, but some analysts say that it could show another price surge in the coming days.
Mainstream markets may also impact the crypto space this week. It’s earnings season which is one of the more volatile periods on Wall Street, so some traders are looking for as many opportunities as they can for short-term profit. Moreover, there’s also a direct connection between earnings and crypto, since reports are usually accompanied by statements delivered to shareholders. Therefore, this week’s reports by AMD, which makes processors that are also used for crypto mining, and Facebook, which will launch Libra soon, could also impact the crypto market.
eToro USA LLC; Virtual currencies are highly volatile. Your capital is at risk.