Konstantin Anissimov, Executive Director at CEX.IO, shares his insights about the Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) daily price movements.
BTC/USD
Having opened the trading session of 19th February at 51,643 and gone twice below 51,000 between 02:00 and 04:00 UTC, BTC/USD continued steeply south until the end of the day with a slight intermission midway. The pair reached 53,000 between 09:00 and 10:00 UTC, which was another all-time high. It then took east and continued sideways under 53,000 until 14:00 UTC.
The second phase of the rally began at 14:00 UTC, as BTC/USD hit 53,320 based on the CEX.IO exchange rate and closed the hour at 52,999. The BTC/USD ascent continued during in four successive bullish candlesticks that had come to 55,500 by 19:00 UTC. A slight corrective retracement took place between 19:00 and 20:00 UTC; after that BTC/USD continued upwards until 21:00 UTC.
This new BTC/USD price surge well aligns with the bullish sentiment that market that has been showing after the breakthrough past 50,000. After this new bullish wave, BTC/USD will likely go into a sideways stabilization or may take a corrective downturn. Both scenarios are probable in the near term. However, in the medium term, we expect BTC/USD to continue its upside progress.
Weighing the factors that could reverse Bitcoin’s rally, we continue to think that a fast recovery of the world’s economy and especially of the economies of the EU, the U.S. and U.K. is the key such factor. It could reignite the demand for fiat currencies and decrease the demand for Bitcoin. However, with the more virulent COVID-19 strain spreading in Germany, the EU’s economic recovery is under a serious threat. Therefore, the fundamental background remains pro-bullish for Bitcoin.
ETH/USD
ETH/USD opened the trading session of 19th February at 1,941, based on the CEX.IO trade data. The pair was largely trading down until 05:00 UTC, having briefly dipped below 1,900 between 02:00 and 03:00 UTC. Between 05:00 and 11:00 UTC, ETH/USD almost fully retraced the losses, having risen to 1,940 at the beginning of the 10th hour of the day, but had come down to 1,919.7 by 15:00 UTC.
From 15:00 UTC, ETH/USD began rising again and had traveled to 1,973.5 by 19:00 UTC. A bearish hourly candlestick retraced some of those profits between 19:00 and 20:00 UTC, but its upper wick had set another all-time high at 1,977 as per the CEX.IO pricing before the candlestick closed. Between 20:00 and 21:00 UTC, ETH/USD recorded a dojo candlestick, with a high above 1,960.
ETH/USD is getting ever closer to 2,000, which might be reached by the end of the week of 15th February. Its uptrend looks very much intact, being supported by the fast-paced growth of the DeFi market. With the looming upgrade of Ethereum on the Beacon chain and the multi-fold increase of its throughput, Ethereum might near a mainstream adoption in 2022, which might make Etherum a yet more attractive asset for high-net-worth investors.
Considering all these factors, we continue to stick to the view that ETH/USD is going to continue bullish in the medium term, that is into the second quarter of 2021, 2,342.4 being the target.
Executive Director at CEX.IO. His area of responsibility includes customer relationships with institutional and VIP-clients, overseeing the creation of the company’s development strategy, new products, markets and partnerships. As a member of the board of directors, Konstantin is also responsible for corporate governance.
