Meanwhile, at the same time, the price of gold — a traditional safe-haven asset — rose as much as 1.5% on Friday and Saturday morning, although the precious metal has still randomly but significantly underperformed Bitcoin this year.
“We think the important role and resource that Bitcoin will ultimately play is still uncertain. Roles and Games played something like gold and Treasuries are quite famous nowadays. So the bottom line is that when things really look bad, the traditional hideout will rise to the top," added Mayfield.
News and information in the form of market-rattling variants and markets are not the only negative factors weighing on Bitcoiners. Going into this week and month, analysts cited a number of crypto barriers including US tax reporting requirements for digital currencies, China's intensifying regulatory tightening, and India's view on a new bill that could ban most private cryptocurrencies.
Bitcoin has been under intense pressure and pressure since hitting a record nearly $69,000 earlier this month on enthusiasm and enthusiasm for the first US exchange-traded fund to link futures on the digital asset. Currently conditions are near the 100-day moving average of $53,940, which served as support during the late September pullback.
“Ironically and sadly, since yesterday afternoon the crypto market is starting to look quite upbeat with hopes of a Santa rally,” Jonathan Cheesman, head of over-the-counter and institutional sales at crypto-derivatives exchange FTX, said in a note Friday. It's "definitely going to be a very stressful and horrific weekend."
As usual, bulls remain committed to the view that more institutional and retail investors will embrace this virtual currency
“This is a market reaction/correction in an uptrend,” said Vijay Ayyar, head of Asia-Pacific at Luno Pte., pointing out that options expiration days – like Fridays – can often be volatile. He said a drop to the $48,000 to $50,000 range may be more concerning, and that “a 20% drop is normal in Bitcoin’s uptrend as we have seen many times before.”
As usual, bulls remain committed to the view that more institutional and retail investors will embrace this virtual currency
“This is a market reaction/correction in an uptrend,” said Vijay Ayyar, head of Asia-Pacific at Luno Pte., pointing out that options expiration days – like Fridays – can often be volatile. He said a drop to the $48,000 to $50,000 range may be more concerning, and that “a 20% drop is normal in Bitcoin’s uptrend as we have seen many times before.”
Katie Stockton, founder of Fairlead Strategies LLC, said in a note Friday that two consecutive daily closes below the $52,900 level would increase the risk of a deeper pullback towards the next support level near $44,200. But that's no reason to sell, he said.
"We will hold long positions, for now, given the possibility of a snapback rally in the days ahead from oversold territory which sees medium-term momentum remains to the upside," said Stockton.
For now, Bitcoin's pullback is a spectacle of the global market slump in the new variant identified as B.1.1.529 as policymakers rush to retool cross-border travel policies.
The biggest tokens are still up more than 85% this year.
