Bitcoin is ending one of the more spectacular weeks of both its recent history and its entire existence, still comfortably above $50,000. After gaining almost 10% over the past seven days, Bitcoin has surprised an already bullish crowd of hodlers and dealt an increasing blow to naysayers who remain convinced that a crash is guaranteed.
With attention still on stocks and hedge funds’ decimation by retail investors, few factors were pointing to Bitcoin stealing the limelight. Even positive words from Elon Musk, who in an interview on Sunday said that he “supports Bitcoin” but has no opinion on altcoins, failed to rally the bulls.
Bitcoin analysts were eagerly eyeing a fresh breakout on January 19 as BTC/USD hovered nervously around $37,000. After hitting lows of $34,000 over the weekend, Bitcoin hovered roughly in the middle of its wide trading range between $30,000 and $40,000. As the week progressed, however, signs of bullish tendencies became more palpable.
Bitcoin was more than $8,000 higher versus its Monday lows of $30,250 at press time. While the market waited for a seminal test of $40,000, proponents seized on the latest uptick to pour scorn on naysayers, mostly the mainstream press, which had claimed that Bitcoin had just experienced a 2017-style crash.
