If you follow the cryptocurrency markets, there’s no doubt you’ve been keeping an eye on the industry leader, Bitcoin (BTC). Most BTC-watchers are used to getting dizzy from all the ups and downs, but lately, the crypto star has been setting new high time and time again. Of course, there have been several deep retracements immediately after a few of the high points. For the most part, the story for the coin in 2021 has been up, up, and away, giving new meaning to an old song title. What’s the best way to understand what the current year has been like so far, and to make some educated guesses about what might be in store for the final three quarters?
To get a feel for how things have transpired since Jan. 1st, it’s wise to look at the current price level, see how ordinary investors can take part in the action, review some of the wild new highs that were set within just the first seven weeks of the year, examine the effect of the Tesla situation and the COVID pandemic. Here’s a summary of what every cryptocurrency enthusiast should know about Bitcoin’s performance for the first part of 2021.
Where We Are Today
As of late February, the price of BTC stands at a record $51,243. All alone, that piece of data doesn’t say much. Consider the fact that the cyber coin was valued at $29,333 on the first opening bell after New Year’s Day. That’s an 80 percent rise in about seven weeks. If a major corporate stock did the same, investors everywhere would be astounded. But there’s a hint of anti-BTC attitude in the financial media these days for a number of reasons. The primary one is that national governments are finally beginning to realize that Bitcoin could become a true global currency.
Getting Involved
What about everyday traders who want to get involved in buying and selling Bitcoin? They’re not left out because there are dozens of ways to take part in the excitement. Perhaps the easiest is Bitcoin trading via CFDs. Contracts-for-difference don’t require huge up-front purchases, deposits, or commissions. In fact, there are no commissions at all. Brokers earn their keep on the buy-sell spreads, which makes it astoundingly easy for investors to purchase a CFD, choose which side of the market, long or short, they want to be on, and make a purchase. The point is that you don’t need to be an Elon Musk to take advantage of speculating on BTC or any of the other major cryptos.
Highs and Retracements
Since January, prices went from $29,333 to the $33k mark and then retraced to the $31k position. Within a week, the price hit a new peak of $40k, retraced to $34k, soared up to $38k, retraced for a couple weeks down to $30k on Jan. 27, and then began the long, record-breaking climb to today’s new point of $52,681.
Tesla
Tesla’s owner, Elon Musk, purchased $1.5 billion worth of BTC in February. Immediately after that, the coin’s price hit yet another new peak, at $46,000. The key thing to take away from this incident is that it is not entirely isolated after all. For example, Musk also announced that his company, the premier electric vehicle producer in the world, would begin taking BTC as legal tender payment for all the company’s products and services.
The other piece of the puzzle is that Musk is not just an eccentric wealthy person who decided to enter the crypto market because he had the available funds. He’s a thought leader in both the auto and entrepreneurial sectors, followed by millions of other influential investors, politicians, and individual business owners. There probably could not have been a bigger one-time boost to the credibility and clout of Bitcoin than Musk’s purchase. Look for other prominent corporate presidents and entrepreneurs to do the same as the months pass into summer. This single incident could start a snowball effect of sorts.
COVID
All the cryptocurrencies had a wild ride in 2020 when the COVID pandemic hit in March. Most of the players in the niche took a hit for a month or so, recovered to normal levels through September, and then took off again. Since January, the daily trot of COVID news and crisis of the day has worn thin. Investors in the cyber money markets aren’t responding to the doom and gloom headlines as they were in 2020. That might be one of the things propelling all the major cryptos to new heights.
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