It might seem redundant to report on Bitcoin gains three business days in a row, but in fact, the cryptocurrency’s gradual ascent took a more dynamic turn over the past 24 hours, dwarfing gains earlier in the week.
In the last market cycle, BTC moved around 15% higher, breaking various resistance barriers and crowning more incremental growth since Monday.
“The $1000 USD price rally also helped the king coin recover completely from the infamous black Thursday market crash, making it the best performing asset of 2020 YTD, leaving behind its arch-rival Gold,” writes John Isige at Coingape this morning. “Bitcoin broke past the $9k level and was trading at $9,218.07 at press time.”
As Isige reports, the newest Bitcoin surge is cementing this asset in investors’ minds as a handy alternative to things like gold and the US dollar.
In fact, Bitcoin magnate Cameron Winklevoss, who sat on a pile of BTC with his brother Tuler during a prior spike, recently tweeted response to plummeting oil prices that illustrates this idea well:
“Today, oil can no longer be considered a reliable store of value,” Winklevoss tweeted April 20. “Your next best options are the U.S. dollar (gulp), gold (scarce), or Bitcoin (fixed).”
The collapse of the oil values has further triggered investor flight as the general equity market bounces up and down on earnings numbers and other indicators generated through the new coronavirus era. Fed Chief Jerome Powell’s recent assertion that the next quarter will be in some ways the worst in US history doesn’t help.
Now, investors look toward the mid-May halving event, where Bitcoin’s miner reward is going to be changed significantly. Although BTC reward halvings in the past have generated BTC boosts, many analysts say all bets are off now, due to unique factors around this month’s economic turmoil.
“The periodic decline in Bitcoin’s minting rate could have a deeper significance than any near-term price movements for the functioning of the currency,” wrote Alyssa Hertig at Coindesk March 24. “The block reward is an important component of Bitcoin, one that ensures the security of this leaderless system. As the rewards dwindle to zero in the decades ahead, it could potentially destabilize the economic incentives underlying bitcoin’s security.”
We will shortly have more information on both the May halving, and the further economic effects of COVID19. For now, BTC is standing tall.