Bitcoin has clawed back lost ground from Thursday’s 2.4% sell that saw the crypto reach lows of around $43,800.
The world’s largest cryptocurrency by market value was up 1.5% over a 24-hour period by press time and is currently changing hands for around $46,100.
Bitcoin is beginning to edge closer toward analyst’s projected $50,000 price tag, as CoinDesk reported Thursday.
“We were seeing many investors taking advantage of recent market movements by taking profits,” said Asher Tan, CEO of cryptocurrency exchange CoinJar. “There’s a trend of conservatism among users who jumped into crypto around similar price levels earlier in the year, with users slightly trimming their holdings.”
Indeed, bitcoin (BTC, +1.7%)‘s total daily volume across major exchanges, including Bitstamp, remains flat when compared to previous months, particularly towards the end of May.
BTCUSD Daily Chart
Source: TradingView
“While the recent price movements have seen an increased amount of activity in the markets, trading volumes globally are nowhere near where they were the last time the price was at $45,000 – they’re much lower,” said Janine Grainger, co-founder of Australia-based exchange Easy Crypto.
The co-founder points toward new investors remaining cautious ever since they had a taste of the crypto market’s volatility when the sell-off in May saw bitcoin prices drop 50% from $56,700 to around $30,000 in a little over a week.
Yet seasoned investors, Grainger argues, are increasingly active with data hinting at a strong uptake in altcoins, beginning Aug. 9. “In particular, ether (ETH, +2.06%) has picked up significantly against bitcoin and that is starting to trend again as of today,” she said.
“Some folks are worried we’re about to repeat history with this year’s $60,000-$30,000-$45,000, but this time it really is different,” BCB Group CEO Oliver von Landsberg-Sadie told CoinDesk via Telegram on Friday. “There is a ton of institutional money in the system, which behaves very differently from retail money; the ecosystem has evolved significantly with hundreds of thousands of man hours of innovation; and regulation has gained much greater definition.”
Ether isn’t the only crypto trending higher on the day with cardano (ADA, +11.04%), stellar (XLM, +6.46%) and solana posting the highest gains. Zooming out to a seven-day period, most altcoins in the top 20 by market cap are outperforming bitcoin while most decentralized finance (DeFi) cryptos are trending higher in the green, up between 6%-90% over the same period.
“In terms of altcoins, many cryptocurrencies especially DeFi coins, have been lagging in comparison to bitcoin and ether,” said Tan. However, we’re starting to see a trend of users swapping bitcoin for DeFi coins, which has been a catalyst for the recent appreciation in their price.”
All writers’ opinions are their own and do not constitute financial advice in any way whatsoever. Nothing published by CoinDesk constitutes an investment recommendation, nor should any data or Content published by CoinDesk be relied upon for any investment activities. CoinDesk strongly recommends that you perform your own independent research and/or speak with a qualified investment professional before making any financial decisions.
Recommended Content
Editors’ Picks
![Ethereum has lost its “ultra” sound money status, faces key rectangle resistance hurdle](https://editorial.fxstreet.com/images/Markets/Currencies/Digital%20Currencies/Ethereum/Ethereum_Coins_31_03_XtraSmall.jpg)
Ethereum has lost its “ultra” sound money status, faces key rectangle resistance hurdle
Ethereum is up 0.5% on Thursday following a recent analysis showing that the top altcoin lost its "ultra" sound money narrative. Meanwhile, ETH ETFs recorded net inflows for the first time after nine days of consecutive outflows.
![Solana bears dominate market as SunPump has potentially led to less demand for SOL](https://editorial.fxstreet.com/images/Markets/Currencies/Cryptocurrencies/Solana/Solana_Crypto_31_XtraSmall.jpg)
Solana bears dominate market as SunPump has potentially led to less demand for SOL
Solana is down 2.5% on Thursday following bearish signals across its funding rate and total fees captured. SOL's weak performance could also be linked to the declining traction seen in its meme coin generation platform Pump.fun.
![AI tokens see narrow gains as Wall Street banks raise price targets on NVDA](https://editorial.fxstreet.com/images/Markets/Currencies/Cryptocurrencies/PEPE/PEPE_coin_2_XtraSmall.jpg)
AI tokens see narrow gains as Wall Street banks raise price targets on NVDA
AI tokens NEAR, ICP, RENDER and TAO briefly traded in the green on Thursday following Wall Street banks' positivity toward Nvidia's earnings report. While a correction followed, these tokens could rally if NVDA meets expectations.
![XRP back above $0.57 even as Ripple traders take $8 million in profits](https://editorial.fxstreet.com/images/Markets/Currencies/Cryptocurrencies/cryptos_XtraSmall.jpg)
XRP back above $0.57 even as Ripple traders take $8 million in profits
Ripple (XRP) traders have consistently taken profits on their holdings in the last two weeks, per Santiment data. Once again, traders have grabbed $8.36 million in profit so far on Thursday. Typically, profit-taking negatively influences the asset as it increases the selling pressure.
![Bitcoin: Will BTC continue its ongoing decline?](https://editorial.fxstreet.com/images/Markets/Currencies/Digital%20Currencies/Bitcoin/bitcoin_5_XtraSmall.jpg)
Bitcoin: Will BTC continue its ongoing decline?
Bitcoin (BTC) trades above $59,000 on Friday, but it has lost 7.5% this week so far after being rejected around the daily resistance of $65,000. The decline is supported by lower demand from the US spot Bitcoin ETFs, which registered a net outflow of $103.8 million, falling Bitcoin's Coinbase Premium Index, and a spike in Network Realized Profit/Loss. However, some investors seem to be taking the chance to buy BTC amid this price dip, as shown by the Exchange Netflow data.
![Moneta Markets review 2024: All you need to know](https://editorial.fxstreet.com/images/IT/Testing/Review/FXSBadgeCertifiedBackg_XtraSmall.png)
Moneta Markets review 2024: All you need to know
VERIFIED In this review, the FXStreet team provides an independent and thorough analysis based on direct testing and real experiences with Moneta Markets – an excellent broker for novice to intermediate forex traders who want to broaden their knowledge base.