Key Takeaways
- Bitcoin slides 4% on the day to reach near weekend lows
- Mainstream support still seen as a sign the rally is far from over
Weakness in Crypto Pushes Bitcoin to Recent Lows
Weak performance across the cryptocurrency market narrates Bitcoin’s gyrations on Thursday. The price of the largest digital asset has yet to recover from the weekend sell-off that erased over 12% of bitcoin’s market cap, or over $100bn.
On Thursday, Bitcoin’s price dropped near the weekend bottom around $52,000. In the early hours today, the crypto asset tumbled over 4% to reach a low of $52,500. Later, however, crypto participants bought the dip and now the coin is hovering near $54,400. Bitcoin’s opening price today was roughly $54,900, meaning that a close below that price level would put the asset into back-to-back declines coupled with yesterday’s 3.7% drop.
As the upward momentum is fading, the key $60,000 level remains a tough task to achieve. On the positive side, bitcoin has been holding above the major milestone of $1tn market value for about five weeks. At the top near $65,000 reached last week, bitcoin broke above a valuation of $1.2tn.
Mainstream Support Seen as a Positive Sign
Bitcoin’s market share has been diminishing recently and just today dipped below 50% for the first time since mid-2018. The decreasing market share of the digital currency suggests that other cryptos, or altcoins, are receiving fresh inflows of capital, thus helping the overall health and balance of the market.
Bitcoin supporters remain certain that the rally this year marks the start of cryptos going mainstream. The key factor that distinguishes this rally from the 2017 boom-and-bust cycle, according to crypto advocates, is the pouring of institutional backing. The 2017 bull run, which carried bitcoin to a high of $19,500, was largely based on retail buying, whereas, this year’s gains are boosted by the involvement of traditional finance and large cap mainstream companies.
Bitcoin traded around $10,000 as recently as October. In the span of six months, the number one cryptocurrency has gained over 400%, adding more than $800bn to its market value.
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