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Friday 21 May 2021 3:40 pm

Bruised Bitcoin heads into an uncertain weekend

By: Darren Parkin

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Bitcoin fragmented on words background

Despite suffering a few cuts and bruises over the last couple of weeks, Bitcoin hasn’t been dealt the knockout blow many had predicted as it staggers punch drunk into the weekend, but clinging onto the safety of the $40k rope.

The coaches in Bitcoin’s corner appear to have done a sterling job of patching up the grazes from a couple of punishing rounds with Elon Musk’s cheap donkey punches and some cynical jabs from the Chinese government.

The jaw of the world’s flagship cryptocurrency, though, appears to be stronger than many had believed, and although BTC got close to the canvas at $28,000 earlier this week, it quickly got off its knees before the bell rang to signal the next daunting round – the weekend.

Historically, weekends traditionally don’t go terribly well for the price of Bitcoin. Indeed throughout 2019 and 2020, the lower trading volume often came with a fall in price that extended well into Monday morning when it would usually begin to recoup losses.

READ MORE: Bitcoin falls below $40k as alarm bells ring over potential washout

This year, however, has seen a curiously mixed bag of fortunes for Bitcoin. Some recent weekends have witnessed an unprecedented surge in trading volume, together with some impressive price lifts.

Given the outrageous volatility of all cryptocurrency markets this last week, the next 56 hours could yet prove to be one of the most exciting in the recent history of crypto. Of course, it goes without saying, it may all be a damp squib, but the portents are that we are in for a potential rollercoaster.

Bitcoin itself appears to have settled on a narrow channel, albeit an unfamiliar one around $40,000, but when this has been recorded ahead of a weekend in the past it invariably leads to some excitement in one direction or another.

Read more

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That being the case, it may be that we could see plenty of opportunists looking to buy the dip – despite reports that several big players and institutions are offloading Bitcoin.

If an offload – or indeed a washout – is on the cards, it is likely that the weekend will facilitate tipping the scales in the favour of alt coins. In which case, we could instead see some clamouring for currencies such as Ethereum, Cardano and BNB – all coins which have been simmering in value of late as well as dipping to attractive take-up levels over the last four days.

READ MORE: Bitcoin gets the jitters as Elon Musk’s curious meddling continues

Ethereum in particular looks to be providing the most temptation, currently shaking its tailfeathers at a seductive $2,700 despite starting the week above $4,000. Plenty of investors will see it has the capability and wherewithal to live happily above $4k, so $2.7k may currently look like something of a steal.

Cardano’s native ADA token, which last weekend pegged an all-time high touching $2.43 tumbled in the turmoil to $1.21 on Wednesday before finding itself back above $1.70 heading into this weekend. In the aftermath of the midweek mayhem, ADA made the quickest recovery of any cryptocurrency – a performance that will not have gone unnoticed by analysts and traders.

Of course, any take on where the market goes is subjective. No one can possibly predict what this weekend will bring.

One certainty, is that it is unlikely it will be incident free. The chances of excitement are high with Bitcoin taking top billing, and a string of feisty undercards guarantee you won’t want to pass up the opportunity of a ringside seat.

Read more

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Mark Kleinman is Sky News' City Editor and writes a column for Morning Wire

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