The tides have seemingly begun to turn in the favor of Bitcoin (BTC). Volumes have surged across the board, all while the flagship cryptocurrency has slowly moved to and past the auspicious $4,000 price point. And with this, many have begun to call to an end of the bear market, in spite of the fears that lower lows are inbound.
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BTC Moves Past $4,000, Watch The Breakout
Per data from Live Coin Watch, Bitcoin has moved past $4,000 for the first time in a number of weeks. As of the time of writing, BTC is up by 2%, as altcoins have surged across the board. While most established crypto assets, like Ethereum and XRP, have tracked the market leader almost to a tee, some lesser-known projects have seen double-digit percentage gains. Crypto.com’s token has quintupled in the past 72 hours, while Bitcoin Cash has seen a +20% day.
Yet, all eyes are still on BTC, as this specific asset dictates the broader market movements. And interestingly, analysts are more bullish than bearish. Popular Twitter commentator Rhythm Trader, also known as Alec Ziupsnys, noted that the fact that BTC trading volume surmounted $11 billion has him glowing.
Bitcoin trading volume tops $11 billion for the first time in nearly a year.
Don't be caught picking up a penny in front of a steamroller. pic.twitter.com/iv3yr5BNkv
— Rhythm Trader (@Rhythmtrader) March 15, 2019
Referencing a tweet he made regarding catching Bitcoin’s bottom, he adds that traders shouldn’t be “caught picking up a penny in front of a steamroller.”
Per previous reports, Rhythm Trader is under the belief that more likely than not, this market has found a bottom. Just days ago, he explained that while history does not repeat itself, it rhymes, setting precedent for Bitcoin to embark on a slow but steady grind past $20,000 by the start of 2021.
In a separate tweet, he notes that a short-term rebound to $6,000 is entirely possible, citing the fact that in his eyes, November’s drop was the final bout of capitulation that wiped most negativity from the market. This, of course, could set a precedent for a “return to mean,” as Ziupsnys calls the expected recovery.
Alex Krüger, The Crypto Dog, and a mass of other prominent traders have also expressed positivity over the past week, accentuating improving underlying industry conditions.
Crypto charts looking great. Been waiting for BTC to break $4000 for almost three weeks now.
— Alex Krüger (@krugermacro) March 16, 2019
Bitcoin Fundamentals Are Strong Too
Fundamentals seem to be strong too. Conner Fromknecht recently drew attention to the stellar growth in the Lightning Network, citing data from 1ML to show that the scaling solution can now process upwards of 1,000 BTC. Just months ago, this statistic was well under 500 BTC.
LN just crossed 1,000 BTC (~$4M) in advertised capacity! When 10k? pic.twitter.com/5omzTXVqSz
— Conner Fromknecht ⚡️ (@bitconner) March 16, 2019
Institutional developments, save for CBOE’s recent decision to shutter (or at least pause) its Bitcoin futures contract, have also created a bullish narrative. Bakkt is nearing launch, as Fidelity has soft-launched its cryptocurrency division to a crowd of selected clients. And it seems that there is a massive amount of demand for such products, as 20% of the 450 institutions that Fidelity assessed have got involved in cryptocurrency in some way, shape, or form.
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