Bitcoin Roars Back After 10% Pullback
What. The. Hell. On Monday morning, Bitcoin (BTC) tapped $8,000… twice. For some reason or another, no one predicted this move. This sudden surge comes after the cryptocurrency stumbled on Sunday, falling to $6,800 in a flash-esque crash after flirting with $7,500 in a massive daily candle.
Funnily enough, many analysts didn’t expect this bullish continuation. As Ethereum World News reported over the past few days, a number of notable traders speculated that BTC was reaching a local peak, looking to technical factors, on-chain statistics, and historical trends to determine that the cryptocurrency market was getting well over-extended.
For instance, analyst Josh Rager noted that Bitcoin’s price action over the past five weeks is eerily similar to that seen during the end of the previous bear market. For those unaware, in 2015, BTC fell to $200 in a capitulation event, rallied to $500 in a parabolic run-up, fell to $300 in a 40% correction, and then decidedly entered a bull market phase.
With this in mind and barring that BTC breaks from a historical trend, the asset may have been vulnerable to a further ~25% fall from current levels, potentially finding a local bottom in the low-$5,000s or even the high-$4,000s. This expectation for a healthy pullback has been echoed by other traders, many of which state that buying BTC at current levels may be foolish and crass, given the Bitfinex situation.
But as we now know, this never exactly came to fruition. Oh, the irrationality of crypto markets. So what’s going on with this recent pump? Well, many think it lines up with an array of developments that recently broke.
Bakkt To Launch BTC Futures
Earlier today, Bakkt, the Intercontinental Exchange’s independent crypto initiative, revealed that it will be launching its physically-backed futures contract in June. According to a Medium update from its chief executive, Kelly Loeffler, the product will take two forms: 1) a daily settlement future; 2) monthly futures. This confirms rumors that the platform was looking to launch a vehicle for a same-day market. Bakkt expects the soft launch of this product by July, explaining that it intends to iron out any kinks in the coming weeks.
This news comes after crypto enthusiasts, down and up the board, have begged Bakkt to launch, citing continual delays and a fear that the trading platform was never going to launch. But lo and behold, here Bakkt is, revealing intentions to finally go live.
This report comes just a few weeks after Bakkt was revealed to be working with major U.S. bank BNY Mellon. As we reported, the exchange was working closely with the institution to secure Bitcoin and other digital asset private keys, specifically through a system of geographic distribution. In the same announcement, it was revealed that Bakkt had acquired Digital Asset Custody Company (DACC), while securing a $100 million insurance policy with “global insurance carriers.”
eBay Crypto?
At the same time this news broke, rumors began to bubble about eBay potentially entering cryptocurrency. According to a Telegram post from “Patrons of The Moon”, eBay may be announcing support for cryptocurrency in the coming week, citing advertisements and sponsorships seen at Consensus in New York.
Other than the two aforementioned news events, Bitfinex’s CTO just confirmed that his company has finished a $1 billion IEO raise, which ensures the exchange isn’t insolvent. In other news, a crypto startup named “Flexa”, which is partnered with the Winklevoss Twins’ Gemini, has confirmed that you will be able to spend cryptocurrency, namely Bitcoin, at outlets like Whole Foods.
Photo by Daniel Páscoa on Unsplash
