Bitcoin seemed to be on a roll earlier this month, reaching a new all-time high ten days ago. Now it's struggling to break above its longstanding top of $69,000 set in November 2021. What's going on?
For a start, Grayscale selling coins isn't helping. The massive fund manager was again shifting crypto to its custodian as investors redeemed their shares.
Todd Sohn, an ETF and technical strategist at Strategas Securities, told Decrypt that it was likely due to "leftover holders desiring to leave this vehicle for a cheaper ETF."
The redemptions—alongside uncertainty about the impact of the upcoming halving—have pushed the price of Bitcoin down: The biggest digital coin's price now stands at $64,415, a weekly drop of nearly 7%, according to CoinGecko. Bitcoin was recently closing in on $74,000.
What is Bitcoin?
—Bitcoin started it all. It was the first cryptocurrency, and it launched an industry that now includes thousands. But who invented it, how does it work, and why is it so important? What is Bitcoin? Bitcoin (BTC) is a peer-to-peer cryptocurrency. Think of it as a digital token. You can't physically touch or hold Bitcoins, and all Bitcoin transactions are logged on a public, decentralized, immutable ledger. The first official purchase using Bitcoin was for pizza in May 2010. Two pizzas from Papa...
Ethereum isn't faring much better, either. The second-biggest coin has dropped 10% over the week and is now worth $3,342.
The news of a "voluntary enquiry from a state authority that included a requirement for confidentiality" didn't do the asset any favors.
Elsewhere, popular meme coins—which earlier this month piqued investor interest again—took a battering. The biggest ones experienced the biggest dips: Pepe, Dogwifhat, and Bonk are the week's biggest losers. The assets are down 16%, 21%, and 28%, respectively.
Despite the current market pessimism, some reputable analysts are still confident over the long-term: global investment firm AllianceBernstein this week forecasted that Bitcoin would hit $90,000 by the end of the year.
Bitcoin and Ethereum See Red as Crypto Market Boom Turns to Gloom
Markets are seeing red early Tuesday morning as Bitcoin drops 7% and Ethereum lags 10%. The global crypto market cap has contracted by 8% since yesterday, having dropped below $2.5 trillion after last week getting within 5% of matching its all-time high market capitalization crypto markets last saw in early November 2021. At the time of writing, the Bitcoin price is $63,142.39 after having briefly dropped below the $63,000 mark, according to CoinGecko data. It's been a rapid change of scenery fo...
A Monday report from Standard Chartered, meanwhile, claimed that Ethereum could hit $8,000 by the end of this year, and $14,000 is possible by the end of 2025.
Edited by Ryan Ozawa.
