Traders see bitcoin’s jump back into the $9,000 range as another sign bitcoin is trending upward in 2020 while traditional markets stumble. Year to date, bitcoin is up over 26 percent while the SP 500 stock index is down 9 percent. Cryptocurrency sentiment appears bullish as prices remain above significant moving averages.
As global equity markets continue to get pummeled, bitcoin’s return to the $9,000 level may have been driven by some of the same forces causing a rally in bonds – a desire for respite from a coronavirus-plagued markets.
After sharp gains in price Thursday, bitcoin (BTC) has been trading steadily in a range between $9,000 and $9,200. For the past 24 hours, bitcoin’s price change has been minimal, down half a percent as of 18:00 UTC (1 p.m. ET).
Although traders seem to be open to viewing the cryptocurrency markets as a safe haven from stock market turmoil, more volatility is possible ahead of May’s halving, an event that will slash in half the reward bitcoin miners obtain.
“It’s a relief rally. In my opinion, we have a likelihood of sweeping another low before the post-halvening rally”, said Mostafa Al-Mashita of Canadian crypto brokerage firm Secure Digital Markets.
“I believe gold and BTC are safe havens”, said Henrik Kugelberg, a Sweden-based crypto OTC trader. “As coronavirus has just started to spread, I believe a strong market will last well until the halving will have effect. To me it seems plausible that we can hit an all-time high this year, perhaps within six months.”
