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why only a weaker dollar will push BTC above $20,000

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A widespread debate among investors is the correlation of Bitcoin (BTC) with other markets. A high degree of correlation between the equity markets and Bitcoin has existed, particularly in the last few months. In other periods, gold and Bitcoin appear to move in tandem.

However, the correlation that should be watched the most is the dollar since the global economy is based on the strength or weakness of our world reserve currency, the United States dollar.

Weaker USD drove up Bitcoin prices in Q2, Q3 2020

BTC/USD vs. Gold vs. DXY 1-day chart. Source: TradingView

The chart above shows gold, Bitcoin, and dollar values since the crash in March. The orange line is gold, the blue line the U.S. Dollar Currency Index (DXY), and the regular price of Bitcoin is shown by the black line.

The sudden impact of the global pandemic increased the demand for U.S. Dollars, surging heavily in March as seen by the large blue spike. This spike caused the other markets to tumble as the price of Bitcoin dropped by 50% to as low as $3,700.

However, since this massive crash, the DXY has been weakening day-by-day. This sudden weakness of the dollar caused other “safe haven” assets to rise significantly over the past six months. Bitcoin has increased 185% since the crash of March while Gold rallied 31%.

But despite the general downtrend still intact, the U.S. dollar has seen a relief bounce in early September as a bottom construction was made. A bullish divergence was created to mark the start of the temporary bottom pattern, after which the 92.75 level was reclaimed as support for further continuation upward.

U.S. Dollar Currency Index 1-day chart. Source: TradingView

U.S. Dollar Currency Index 1-day chart. Source: TradingView

This relief rally reached 94.60 points and caused other assets to drop substantially. Hence, more weakness in the commodity and crypto markets should be expected if the DXY continues toward 96 points.

USD in 2016 and 2017 fueled the Bitcoin cycle

BTC/USD vs DXY 1-week chart. Source: TradingView

BTC/USD vs DXY 1-week chart. Source: TradingView

The previous cycle highs were hit in 2014 and 2017 for Bitcoin, through which credible data can be derived from the correlation between the U.S. Dollar and Bitcoin.

Throughout 2017, the U.S. Dollar showed significant weakness across the boards, as the EUR/USD pair rallied from 1.03 to 1.25 too. During this uncertainty and instability of the U.S. Dollar, Bitcoin had its peak rally from $1,000 to $20,000.

More interestingly is the fact that Bitcoin’s peak high is surrounded by the cycle low of the DXY index.

Since then, the DXY index has been showing some strength. Through this strength, the Bitcoin bear market was fueled until the previous months.

A substantial weakness of the DXY index is causing the price of Bitcoin and Gold to continue rallying. Is history going to repeat itself?

Dollar weakness after the Dot.com bubble lead to a 600% surge in Gold

DXY Index vs. Gold 1-week chart. Source: TradingView

DXY Index vs. Gold 1-week chart. Source: TradingView

What can be derived from the chart above is the strength of gold since the dot com bubble popped in 2000. During the first stages of a potential crash is the liquidation phase when all markets drop as gold also corrected 30% in 2000. This is the hunt for liquidity to cover losses on the equity markets similar to what has been witnessed in March 2020.

However, since the USD showed weakness in 2000, gold has been showing tremendous strength as a safe haven, which would have increased your portfolio by 600%.

In the same period, the EUR/USD pair rallied from 0.85 to 1.60 in 2008. The momentum then flipped as investors flew to the USD as a hedge during the credit crisis.

But in the current times of uncertainty with negative interest rates, increased debt levels, and deflation, Bitcoin is also doing relatively well.

Of course, a potential drop by 25-35% could occur in the first stage of the crisis just like in March. But Bitcoin and gold would benefit significantly afterward as safe havens against a weakening dollar, which is precisely what happened in December 2017 as BTC hit its all-time high of nearly $20,000.

The simple reasoning for this is that confidence in governments will also drop during times of economic uncertainty, e.g. the corona pandemic or systematic risk. Given this uncertainty and exponentially growing debt, the U.S. central bank has one option: devalue the currency, which means further weakness for the dollar.

In other words, the prophecy of six-figure prices can become a reality if the dollar’s weakness continues into 20201.

The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph. Every investment and trading move involves risk. You should conduct your own research when making a decision.





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OKCoin to Suspend XRP Trading and Deposit from January 4, 2021

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According to the announcement, the XRP deposit and trading would be disabled on January 4, 2021, as the lawsuit proceedings are taking place.

OKCoin has announced its intention to suspend XRP trading and deposit following the recent lawsuit against Ripple Lab, the company behind the asset, and two executives. This is a huge blow as panic withdrawal has been triggered with investors under pressure to switch to other assets. Coinbase has also announced that they will halt XRP trading in the coming year amid the reported lawsuit. The price of XRP has been affected heavily having dropped from its yearly high to as low as $0.22 especially in a period that is supposed to be a celebration for a bull run.

OKCoin Announcement Related to XRP

According to the announcement, the XRP deposit and trading would be disabled on January 4, 2021, as the legal proceedings take place. OKCoin also pointed out two different timelines for the suspension. The first one has to do with users who have borrowed from the XRP/USD margin pair. Those who fall under this category have until 7:00 PM PST January 13, 2021, to return the borrowed value. Users who refuse to abide by this will have to face an automatic liquidation by their system to end the loan contracts as reported by the exchange.

The second suspension timeline has to do with the spot trading, margin trading, and deposit. Customers who fall within this category should be aware that the above-mentioned activities would be suspended starting from 7:00 PM PST on January 14, 2021. OKCoin noted that the ongoing legal battle will take time to resolve, and there is no known date for the legal proceeding to end. For this reason, they will inform their customers when they get access to any information that can influence the change of their position.

The Legal Battle

The US Securities and Exchange Commission has sued Ripple for the illegal sale of securities. This was revealed by the Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse in a recent interview. SEC, unlike Ethereum and Bitcoin has refused to recognize XRP as a currency. XRP was premined, and a lion-share of its units are within the possession of Ripple in an escrow, and periodically released into the market.

Garlinghouse argues that they do not tap the reserve funds anyhow as they please. According to him, XRP has become increasingly decentralized in recent times as it has been recognized as a bridge currency for cross-border transactions. In another part, he accused the Trump administration of being hostile to the cryptocurrency market.

He, therefore, believes that the incoming administration may certainly create a favorable environment for cryptocurrency. Also, he assured that they will not allow themselves to be bullied by the SEC, but instead, they will fight for the entire cryptocurrency ecosystem.

Garlinghouse believes that treating XRP as security controlled by Ripple is equal to treating oil as security controlled by Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE: XOM).

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Excellent John K. Kumi is a cryptocurrency and fintech enthusiast, operations manager of a fintech platform, writer, researcher, and a huge fan of creative writing. With an Economics background, he finds much interest in the invisible factors that causes price change in anything measured with valuation. He has been in the crypto/blockchain space in the last five (5) years. He mostly watches football highlights and movies in his free time.



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Grayscale’s AUM Hits $19B, Up from $16.4B Announced Week Ago

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While it may be too early to project the possible performance of Grayscale in 2021, the spate of patronage the company recorded in the last two quarters of 2020 looks quite inspiring.

In what confirms the continued embrace of Bitcoin (BTC) and altcoins by institutional investors and the big-money clients, Grayscale’s total Assets Under Management (AUM) has been reported to top $19 billion, a significant uplift from the $16.4 billion reported a week ago. According to a report by CoinDesk, Grayscale hit this AUM milestone on December 28, and Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust holds by far the largest chunk of the total assets at $16.3 billion.

The recent rally of Bitcoin to new highs as recorded in the past days started as a chain reaction that took its precedent months ago when Wall Street firms and institutional investors began betting big on Bitcoin. The investment made by the likes of MicroStrategy Incorporated (NASDAQ: MSTR), Square Inc (NYSE: SQ), and PayPal Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: PYPL) did not just help put Bitcoin in the limelight through mainstream media, it also prompted the embrace of the digital assets by other firms.

With this chain reaction, the price of Bitcoin continued to soar in response to boosted demand for the coin, and institutions like Grayscale that serves institutional investors benefited from this new demand, and hence, the continued increase in the firm’s AUM. Besides BTC, Grayscale’s Ethereum (ETH) AUM is now worth $2.1 billion, while the bulk of smaller holdings in Litecoin (LTC), XRP, and ZCash amongst others helped Grayscale’s total AUM to reach the new milestone.

Grayscale’s AUM May See More Boost in 2021

While it may be too early to project the possible performance of Grayscale in the coming year 2021, the spate of patronage the company recorded in the last two quarters of 2020 makes the case for improved performance provided the tempo is sustained.

Just as has been noted earlier, the continued embrace of cryptocurrency assets by highly liquid companies will continue to have a positive reaction on the price of Bitcoin, and by extension, this will even make more people pick interest in BTC. As a relatively young asset class, Bitcoin and altcoins have tremendous room to grow as the adoption rate is still not optimized owing to certain regulatory provisions in most countries, Grayscale and other hedge funds have enough room to compete for new clients entering the space.

With Grayscale been among the institutions at the forefront of helping to drive the acceptance of BTC, ETH, and other digital currencies, enjoying the dividends of its works through impressed AUM figures does not come as much of a surprise.

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Benjamin Godfrey is a blockchain enthusiast and journalists who relish writing about the real life applications of blockchain technology and innovations to drive general acceptance and worldwide integration of the emerging technology. His desires to educate people about cryptocurrencies inspires his contributions to renowned blockchain based media and sites. Benjamin Godfrey is a lover of sports and agriculture.





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RIOT Stock Registers Unprecedented Rally, Riot Blockchain Valuation Soars Above $1B

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Following the Bitcoin all-time high on Sunday, December 27, Riot Blockchain stock registered 20% gains on Monday’s trading session. The stock has already appreciated by 13x this year. Apart from BTC, investors of Bitcoin mining companies are making a bomb in the market.

Bitcoin mining giant Riot Blockchain is making all the news in the market at the moment. On Monday, December 28, Riot Blockchain Inc (NASDAQ: RIOT) stock price surged a massive 20% surging past $15.5 levels. One of the biggest milestones with the Monday rally is that the Riot Blockchain has clocked a $1 billion market cap.

The latest price rally comes as Riot Blockchain hints at going aggressively on its Bitcoin mining business. Last week, the Riot Blockchain added new S19 Pro Antimers to its bitcoin mining arsenal. The company announced the purchase of an additional 15,000 Bitcoin (BTC) mining machines from Bitmain. The recent purchase also pushes Riot’s total fleet to 37,640 Next-Generation Bitmain Antminers.

Riot said that the fresh purchase of Antminers will help the mining company to attain a 65% jump in its mining hash-rate. RIOT stock has registered an unprecedented rally this year in 2020. RIOT stock has multiplied by 13x this year registering a 1200% surge so far.

Riot Blockchain has issued nearly 17 million shares since November 2020 with its total outstanding shares going to 67.5 million. It has been a phenomenal journey for Riot ever since it ventured into the Bitcoin mining business in October 2017. With valuations less than $50 million back then, Riot has grown more than 20x in size as of its latest stock price.

RIOT Stock and Shares of Other Bitcoin Mining Companies Profit from BTC Bull Run

The recent Bitcoin (BTC) price rally during Q4 2020 has also pushed the stocks of Bitcoin mining companies to new highs. Earlier on Sunday, December 28, the BTC price hit its all-time high of $28,000 in a massive bull run followed by huge institutional inflows.

Moreover, along with the BTC price rally, the Bitcoin hash-rate has jumped significantly since November 2020. Over the last two months, the BTC hash-rate has surged nearly 30% and is currently at 132 TH/s. The surge in the hash-rate suggests higher mining activity for Bitcoin.

As a result, Bitcoin mining companies have been making massive purchases of the BTC mining machines. In addition to Riot Blockchain, other giants like the Marathon Patent Group have made aggressive purchases over the last few months. Just like RIOT, the Marathon Patent Group (NASDAQ: MARA) has registered a phenomenal rally of 18% on Monday, December 28. MARA stock has multiplied investors’ wealth by 12x in 2020. It means the MARA stock has also given phenomenal 1100% returns year-to-date.

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Bhushan is a FinTech enthusiast and holds a good flair in understanding financial markets. His interest in economics and finance draw his attention towards the new emerging Blockchain Technology and Cryptocurrency markets. He is continuously in a learning process and keeps himself motivated by sharing his acquired knowledge. In free time he reads thriller fictions novels and sometimes explore his culinary skills.



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