Bitcoin took another wild ride over the weekend. On Saturday evening, the cryptocurrency leader hit an all-time high of $61,781, but it had rolled back to $56,909 by Monday at 10 a.m. -- a loss of about $5,000 a coin and below Bitcoin's previous peak of $58,196 in late February.
Much of what happens with cryptocurrency is complex. Justin d’Anethan, sales manager at digital asset company Diginex in Hong Kong, told Reuters that “technical factors” magnified Bitcoin’s new record, and the spike was delivered into thinner markets.
“A small move up triggered many liquidations throughout Saturday and Sunday, thus becoming a not-so-small move,” d’Anethan said.
A Reuters report that India would pursue a ban on digital assets might have also thrown a wet towel on the cryptocurrency. However, one analyst theorized that the type of legislation India is proposing won’t be a long term hindrance to Bitcoin.
“Because it’s decentralised, government bans or acceptance is somewhat irrelevant,” Seth Melamed, the Tokyo-based chief operating officer of cryptocurrency exchange Liquid, told Reuters. “Capital will find a way.”
Bitcoin’s cheerleaders are still all-in
With financial service companies such as MasterCard trying to move Bitcoin into the mainstream, and investors like Elon Musk making a heavy play, the cryptocurrency has been currying considerable favor this year. Analysts also think that some of the $1.9 trillion stimulus checks from the Biden administration are landing in the laps of people who’d like to invest.
Some noted investors -- such as Mark Cuban -- think that gold is dead as a hedge against inflation. And analysts believe the rise of Bitcoin has been helped by the prospects of a steep economic recovery.