Bitcoin Weekly News – Latest Updates

Bitcoin is a volatile cryptocurrency with a track record of “boom and bust” cycles. The digital currency has been on some ride over the course of 2021, hitting an all time high in April before plummeting back down. However, it seems Bitcoin and other coins are on the rise again. It’s happening really fast as most coins have grown drastically over the last two weeks. The world’s largest and most popular cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, has rallied after this week saw dramatic peaks and troughs for the major coin as it looks to meet a new recent high of $50,000 in price. The first half of the week saw cryptocurrency prices rise and fall in response to considerations of a controversial cryptocurrency provision contained in the Biden administration’s huge Infrastructure Bill. This bill would reshape the US with monumental investment in roads, rail, clean energy and high speed internet.

Cryptocurrency News
Cryptocurrency News

Bipartisan efforts to clarify the wording of the Infrastructure Bill’s crypto provision, defining anyone participating in the transfer of digital or crypto assets like cryptocurrencies on behalf of another as a ‘broker’, had looked to succeed on Monday – sending the prices of Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple and coins across the board soaring in value. Bitcoin, and those invested in it, has been on a rollercoaster ride of late, rising sharply and falling equally so on the back of a number of news stories.

  • 16 December 2020: Price hits $20,000 per coin for the first time.
  • 13 April 2021: Value hits a record high of $63,375.
  • 22 June: Falls to under $30,000 for the first time in 5 months.
  • 2 August: Bitcoin rallies to it’s highest level since May at $40,000.

In this article, we will explain exactly what’s going on and why the prices are growing.

Positive & Negative Stories

With Bitcoin no longer having a theoretical resistance point until its previous all-time high many investors have become bullish that the cryptocurrency will be able to grow to a new high. This speculation has lead to an increase in Bitcoin’s value.

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Negative Stories

A number of negative stories and threats of further regulation have pushed the price of Bitcoin down:

  • In May, Elon Musk said that Tesla would no longer be accepting cryptocurrency payments over concerns about the environment.
  • Sanctions from the Chinese government in June 2021 on trading and mining Bitcoin.
  • UK banks block payments to crypto exchanges.
  • Donald Trumpdescribed bitcoin as a scam competing against the dollar to be “the currency of the world” in June
  • FBI agents seized millions of dollars in bitcoin from criminals.
  • UK’s financial watchdog blacklists Binance, one of the largest crypto exchanges. Big banks such as HSBC and Santander follow suit.
  • IMF warnings – in August on countries using cryptocurrencies as legal tender, saying it’s widespread use would threaten “macroeconomic stability” and could harm financial integrity.
  • Crypto heist – Cryto hackers, Poly Network, steal $600 million in August only to return more than a third of it 4 days later saying they did it “for fun” and to “expose the vulnerability” in the system before others did.

Positive Stories

But there have been more positive stories which have pushed the price upwards in 2021:

  • Electric-car maker Tesla bought $1.5bn of bitcoin in February.
  • Morgan Stanley became the first big US bank to offer wealthier clients access to bitcoin funds – albeit restricted to no more than 2.5% of an investor’s total net worth in March.
  • In June, Elon Musk says Tesla will likely accept bitcoin payments again when more than 50% of its energy usage comes from renewable sources.
  • Amazon posts a job ad for a “Digital Currency and Blockchain Product Lead” prompting speculation it will soon accept bitcoin as payment.
  • El Salvador is making bitcoin legal tender from September 7.

As we can see, there have been a lot of positive stories over the last couple of weeks. That’s the reason why Bitcoin has grown drastically over the last two weeks. On top of that, other coins have been following the trend as well.

Will Bitcoin Rise Further?

It is impossible to tell. There are a number of concerns for those invested in cryptocurrencies:

  • Crackdowns in China, Turkey and Denmark.
  • Calls for greater regulation across the globe and concern expressed from central banks and regulators
  • Environmental concerns.
  • It’s price is based solely on speculation.

Further regulation is seen as a threat to the decentralisation of crypto, which is impacting on price.

Bitcoin’s fans point to its positive qualities:

  • Transformative technology which could revolutionise industries.
  • Simpler and cheaper transactions by cutting out the “middle man”.
  • Easier global trade.
  • Transactions are more confidential.
  • A safe store of value because it can’t be printed or seized.
  • Bitcoin has been touted as an alternative to gold, meaning it could prove itself as a hedge against inflation.

Given its volatile nature, it is possible that bitcoin will gather momentum again at some point in the future (perhaps weeks, months or even years down the line).

Do Financial Institutions Support Bitcoin?

Big brands, like regulators, governments, central banks and individual investors, are looking closely at bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Those companies adopting bitcoin include:

  • Visa
  • Mastercard
  • PayPay

“In time, the sector could move towards becoming a store of value in a more traditional sense, as we see traditional financial companies like Visa embracing cryptos. It is a really volatile asset though and I don’t think that’s going to change any time soon.”

  • The world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock, opened two of its funds to the possibility of investing in bitcoin futures in January 2021.
  • UK based Ruffer Investment Management added bitcoin to its multi-asset portfolios in February before pulling out 5 months later with a  $1.1B profit.
  • The Bank of England (“Britcoin”) and other central banks are exploring the possibility of their own central bank-backed digital currencies.
  • In December 2020, one of the world’s biggest index providers, S&P Dow Jones Indices announced it would launch indexing services in 2021 for over 550 of the top traded cryptocurrencies.

As more institutional investors get on board with crypto assets for capital gains, this could help to calm dramatic price moves.

What are Ethereum, Dogecoin and Ripple currently worth?

With all coins tending to move in tandem with Bitcoin, Ethereum was trading up by roughly 3% on the last 24 hours at $3,239.88, or £2,347.05, at 9.14am on Friday (13 August). A popular cryptocurrency synonymous with the rising crypto trend of NFTs, Ethereum has an all time high of $4,382.73 which it reached in May’s cryptocurrency boom, but it has struggled to return to this peak since.

The hype surrounding popular meme-coin Dogecoin had appeared to diminish recently as new altcoins took center stage, but it has likewise shown considerable growth – trading at $0.277029 (£0.200687) at 9.14am on Friday. Meanwhile, Cardano prices are fluctuating around $1.97 (£1.43), XRP Ripple at $1.04 (£0.754441) and Stellar at $0.358779 (£0.259909) as of 9.14am on Friday.

Is Bitcoin a Good Investment for the Future?

There could be more price appreciation this year. Fiona Cincotta, senior markets analyst at City Index, thinks the price could rise to about $80,000, but notes that forecasts are notoriously tricky because bitcoin is so hard to value.

Several crypto-market experts have tipped bitcoin to hit $100,000 or more by the end of 2021.

Most ordinary investors would not think of speculating on pure currencies such as the US dollar or Japanese yen. This is because currency trading is seen as a highly technical, full-time activity. Instead, people interested in the sector could gain access to it through a less direct route. For example, by buying shares in companies that:

  • develop blockchain technology
  • run crypto exchanges

Whatever your view, there is no denying that these “boom and bust” cycles have been a feature of bitcoin’s whole existence, so some big ups and downs seem highly likely. In short, it will be a wild ride.