Bitcoin
and other cryptocurrencies slipped Friday, paring gains after a recent rally but remaining near the highest levels of the year as traders bet that cryptos will continue to advance past levels not seen since before the 2022 bear market began.
The price of Bitcoin has fallen less than 1% over the past 24 hours to $34,150, falling further from the recent peak above $35,000 reached earlier this week that marks the largest crypto’s highest point since digital assets slid into a brutal bear market in May 2022. Bitcoin has rallied by some 30% in two weeks largely on the back of hopes that the Securities and Exchange Commission will soon allow spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to launch, a catalyst expected to usher in a new wave of investor interest.
“This Bitcoin rally feels different than the others we’ve seen since it bottomed last year. We’re the closest we’ve been to experiencing catalysts that can lead to a sustained market rally,” said Anthony Georgiades, a partner at the fund Innovating Capital and co-founder of the Pastel Network blockchain. “We should fully expect more dips ahead for Bitcoin, but such dips will likely be used by the larger players to accumulate.”
Optimism over spot Bitcoin ETFs—as well as investors piling into Bitcoin as a haven play amid rising geopolitical risks—has helped cryptos outperform the stock market, where the
Dow Jones Industrial Average
and
S&P 500
have hit bumps this week. While Bitcoin was slipping back on Friday, analysts and market participants are upbeat about momentum behind the recent rally and see digital assets pushing higher still.
“$35,000 has proven to be a hard resistance for Bitcoin and the price has lost its direction, but it may still possess a significant upside risk and could potentially reach somewhere around $40,000 in the short term,” said Yuya Hasegawa, an analyst at crypto exchange Bitbank. “Bitcoin’s option market saw a surge in open interest for the $40,000 strike call option that expires in December. This goes to show that the option market is pricing in a continuation of Bitcoin’s rally.”
Beyond Bitcoin,
Ether
—the second-largest crypto—retreated 3% to $1,790. Smaller cryptos or altcoins were also weaker, with
Cardano
down 2% and
Polygon
falling 4%. Memecoins were also in the red, with
Dogecoin
dropping 2% and
Shiba Inu
shedding 1%.
Write to Jack Denton at [email protected]
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