Bitcoin
advanced on Friday, hitting fresh 19-month highs as the cryptocurrency tried yet again to consolidate above a key price level.
The price of Bitcoin rose 2% over the past 24 hours to $38,600, briefly topping the $38,800 level to mark its highest point since cryptos began to plunge into a brutal and prolonged bear market in April 2022. Bitcoin has rallied by more than a third since mid-October, snapping out of a multi-month stretch of subdued crypto trading and spurring calls of a new bull market.
“That there haven’t been big retracements after these recent rallies by Bitcoin strongly suggests that there is huge buying strength right now that is much greater than even just a few months ago,” said Markus Levin, co-founder of the blockchain network XYO. “It’s reminiscent of a bull market, and it does seem as if we are in the early stages of a bull market. Barring a lot of bad news, I doubt a pullback below $35,000 is likely.”
While the $35,000 level may look secure, the real hurdle for Bitcoin will be consolidating above $38,000. The largest digital asset has breached this level multiple times in recent weeks, but has so far failed to hold on to gains above $38,000, with selling pressure typically pushing prices down within a few days.
Cryptos continue to benefit from optimism that U.S. regulators will soon approve the first spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), which would be expected to usher in a fresh wave of investor interest. Expectations that interest rates will come down in early 2024—a macro trend that has buoyed the
Dow Jones Industrial Average
and
S&P 500
in the stock market—has also given cryptos a boost.
Beyond Bitcoin,
Ether
—the second-largest token—rose 2.5% to near $2,100. Smaller cryptos or altcoins were more muted, with
Cardano
1% higher and
Polygon
just above flat. Memecoins were in the green, with
Dogecoin
advancing 3% and
Shiba Inu
up 1%.
Write to Jack Denton at jack.denton@barrons.com
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