So much for a non-stop rally: the world’s largest cryptocurrency appears to have stumbled on Saturday, December 16th. This essentially breaks a gaining streak that ran for nearly eight consecutive weeks.
Bitcoin’s price as of Friday, December 15th, closed at $42,000. The digital asset bounced back over the week, jumping back from its drop to $40,000. Market watchers agree that the more dovish stance recently taken by the US Federal Reserve helped drive last week’s rally and pushed Bitcoin’s value up to $43,000, but it appeared to power down as the week came to an end and the crypto’s value fell to $41,500.
As Bitcoin closed out the week under the critical $43,800 mark, it ended its longest winning streak since 2017 when it dominated the market from April to June.
Market Watchers Unfazed
Despite the drop, experts remain unbothered as they feel the cryptocurrency is due to enjoy a strong showing in the coming year. Indeed, the fact that there are numerous investments in the offing could boost the token’s price in 2024.
For OANDA senior market analyst Craig Erlam, this sort of trading is not surprising in any asset class and progress never follows straight lines. As most financial experts predict that interest rates are slated to drop in Europe, the United Kingdom, as well as the United States over the next two years, it could prove beneficial for high-risk assets like cryptocurrencies. Erlam added that the recent all-time high seen on the Down Jones Industrial Average emphasizes how investors’ appetite for risk has improved considerably over the past several months.
TradeStation’s head of brokerage solutions Anthony Rousseau opines that the Fed’s hints at rate cuts and eased monetary policies in the coming year have boosted confidence in cryptocurrencies. However, he also believes that most people are still waiting on the much-anticipated regulatory approval for spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs.) Such approval for the likes of BlackRock’s ETF and several others is expected to pump up the demand for Bitcoin.
