Last weekend’s crypto bloodbath saw Bitcoin tease the $100,000 mark but later drop the financial and psychological threshold. Suggestions of Bitcoin backpedalling have crypto enthusiasts’ opinions divided on where the oldest cryptocurrency will be heading next.
According to data from TradingView, the dropping prices affecting the entire crypto market saw BTC drop to under $97,300, with an average 1.3% low most of Sunday. The weekend crypto bloodbath briefly curtailed Bitcoin’s trip towards the key six-figure mark the entire market has aimed for since the November 5 Trump electoral victory.
The Crypto Bloodbath Is Only a Temporary Pullback
The signs of Bitcoin backpedalling hit the entire market hard without sparing even the Memecoins that have been riding the BTC wave since the election of a pro-crypto Donald Trump to the White House for a second term. Crypto investors have heavily relied on renewed optimism surrounding Trump’s ascension to power, with high hopes that he will introduce friendlier regulations that could unabated the expansion of crypto into the mainstream.
While the crypto market has garnered an entire $1 trillion since November 5, the weekend crypto bloodbath caused at least $500 million in liquidation on shorts and longs, thanks to the volatility. The leading cryptocurrency in market cap that had become a mere $300 shy of setting a much-awaited milestone last Friday in trading lost momentum on Saturday.
There’s fear among traders of Bitcoin pedalling back to $90,000. On the other hand, some believe the negative sentiment is only a temporary pullback, given the ongoing discussions about Trump creating a White House post to deal with cryptocurrency policies. Crypto industry players are keen on having one of their own take up the position so they can have a direct line to the presidency.
Wall Street’s Attitude Change Toward Crypto
Despite the apparent weekend crypto bloodbath, there seems to be a paradigm shift across Wall Street regarding the US official attitude toward digital asset investment. The announcement last week by the incoming CEO of Charles Schwab Corporation, Rick Wurster, that the firm was keen on joining the crypto space couldn’t have come at a better time.
According to Wurster, the asset manager was waiting for the regulatory space to become more favorable before they could fully plunge into it. Additionally, MicroStrategy is already planning to accelerate plans to buy more Bitcoin at a time when the debut of options trading on the US Bitcoin ETFs caused excitement in the market.
More than Doubled Value This Year
On whether or not the weekend crypto bloodbath was a sign of Bitcoin backpedaling towards $90,000, the head of research at Pepperstone Group, Chris Weston, suggested that the $100,000 target was still in view as the drop wasn’t an out-and-out momentum rally but rather a magnet of sorts. Weston averred, “we can focus on news that SEC Chair Gary Gensler will step down on January 20, sizable inflows into the ETFs, and the role that options play in driving prices higher.”
Many Bitcoin advocates who are unmoved by the apparent crypto bloodbath are convinced of BTC’s emerging role as a modern-day store of value believe that beyond achieving the psychological $100,000 by the end of 2024, the king of crypto has proved to skeptics that it is now a utility with a reputation beyond its previous association with links to crime and the underworld. Nonetheless, other experts still doubt Bitcoin’s fitness for investment portfolios despite the asset having doubled its price this year alone.
Conclusion
While there is apprehension in the market about the direction it will take following the unexpected weekend crypto bloodbath, Bitcoin, about 15 years old, is marching towards the $100,000 per coin price tag. Notwithstanding the chances of Bitcoin backpedalling, some of the asset’s features, like immunity from state capture, scarcity, and predictability, make it a powerful asset compared to other forms of money. The words of a tiny contingent of Bitcoin maximalists who have always predicted its meteoric rise and inevitable broad adoption are almost coming true.
