Market Wrap: Bitcoin Closes 2020 Near Record Highs

Take away:

Bitcoin nearly tripled its price in 2020, ending the year at just under $ 29,000, but ether was up 450%.

  • Bitcoin (BTC) was trading at $ 28,963 as of 9:00 PM UTC (4:00 PM ET), up 1.5% in the past 24 hours.
  • Bitcoin 24-hour range: $ 27,916.63 – $ 29,280.05 (CoinDesk 20)

Bitcoin prices, December 30th – December 31st, 2020.

Bitcoin printed a new record high above $ 29,000 early Thursday before seeing a rapid decline to $ 27,900 during U.S. trading hours, according to data from CoinDesk 20.

Despite the slight decline, the number one cryptocurrency by market value posted its third straight monthly gain, a feat last seen in the second quarter of 2019. The cryptocurrency is up over 45% this month alone and is on track to end at least a 290% gain by 2020.

With the price rally, Bitcoin is way ahead of traditional assets like gold and stocks. The yellow metal is up 25% this year and the S&P 500, Wall Street’s benchmark index, is up 15%.

The year 2020 will go down in history as Bitcoin matures as a macro asset. Prominent listed companies like MicroStrategy are diversifying their cash reserves into the cryptocurrency.

Most observers expect the rally to continue in 2021. “The longer-term economic impact of COVID is unknown. However, as we are still in the midst of major economic disruptions and historical volatility, I believe that Bitcoin / Crypto will continue to rise and be at the height of positive change, ”said Changpeng“ CZ ”Zhao, CEO of Cryptocurrency Exchange Binance, in a New Years message.

Analysts at investment banking giant JPMorgan predict that the increasing adoption of Bitcoin will affect the price of gold.

However, according to Ki Young Ju, CEO of cryptocurrency data provider CryptoQuant, a correction could be seen in the short term if the inflow of spots from institutional investors slows.

“We haven’t had any notable Coinbase outflows since $ 23,000,” Ju told CoinDesk. “The tokens transferred are decreasing and the cash flow quota for all exchanges increases. Grayscale BTC stocks have been at 607,000 as of December 25th. ”

From a technical analysis perspective, $ 27,300 is the primary support that would open the doors to $ 25,300 if breached, according to the daily bitcoin analysis email from crypto exchange EQUOS.

Ether outperforms Bitcoin

  • Ether (ETH) was trading at around $ 742.19 at 9:00 PM UTC (4:00 PM ET), down 0.8% over the past 24 hours.
  • Ether’s 24-hour range: $ 723.18 – $ 755.56 (CoinDesk 20)

Ether Prices, Dec 30th-Dec. 31, 2020.

Ether, the second largest cryptocurrency by market value, is up over 450% this year versus Bitcoin’s 300% rally. The cryptocurrency rose to a 31-month high of $ 757 on Wednesday and was last trading at $ 730.

Ether received a boost from the explosive growth in decentralized funding in 2020, and stronger profits could be in sight next year.

According to Ryan Watkins, an analyst at cryptocurrency provider Messari, the CME’s recent announcement that it will launch Ether Futures in February is a sign of growing institutional interest in cryptocurrency.

Bitcoin saw a strong rally three years ago in the lead up to futures listing on CME. The exchange announced Bitcoin futures on October 31, 2017 when the cryptocurrency was trading near $ 6,300 and traded the first contract on December 27. By then, prices had approached $ 20,000.

Other markets

Most of the digital assets of CoinDesk 20 failed on Monday.

Notable winners on the day from 19:00 UTC (14:00 ET):

  • Cosmos (ATOM): + 11.5%
  • Chain link (LINK): + 1.7%
  • OMG network (OMG): + 1.6%
  • Orchid (OXT): -5.0%
  • Star (XLM): -4.5%
  • Bitcoin Cash (BCH): -4.0%
  • Japan: Nikkei 225: 27,444.17 (-123.98 or -0.45%)
  • UK: FTSE 100: 6,460.52 (-95.30 or -1.45%)
  • USA: S&P 500: 3,756.07 (+24.03 or + 0.64%)
  • Oil was down 0.22%. Price per barrel of West Texas Intermediate Crude: $ 48.18.
  • Gold was in the green at 0.3% and at $ 1,900 at press time.
  • The US 10-year Treasury yield fell to 0.917% on Thursday.

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