Bitcoin rose back above $49,000 on Wednesday after surging in price since the start of the week.
The cryptocurrency has been trading within the $45,000-$50,000 price band since the start of December, after crashing from an all-time high of around $69,000 in November.
The overall crypto market mirrored bitcoin’s most recent resurgence, with several other leading cryptocurrencies all rising by more than 2 per cent over the last 24 hours.
The gains saw Ethereum (ETH) remain above $4,000, while the overall crypto market grew by more than $100 billion. Some of the biggest gains were seen by Polygon (MATIC), which came within $0.03 of its al-time high of $2.6.
The rally reinforced predictions by some analysts, who remain convinced that BTC is still within a long-term bull cycle. Pseudonymous analyst PlanB stood by his price prediction model that puts bitcoin on track to hit six figures within the next few months, before the market finally sees a sustained period of price correction.
You can follow all the latest cryptocurrency news, analysis and expert price predictions right here.
Polygon (MATIC) price nears record high
The price of Polygon (MATIC) is teasing an all-time high, reaching to within $0.03 of the peak it reached in May this year of $2.68.
It is the only one of the leading cryptocurrencies to be currently experiencing a near-record-breaking rally, with current discussions in crypto forums focussing on whether or not an all-time high is a good time to skim off profits.
It’s been a remarkable year for the altcoin, which has risen by nearly 15,000 per cent since January.
(CoinMarketCap)
Anthony Cuthbertson22 December 2021 18:35
Coinbase down
Leading cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase appears to have stopped working amid a major outage impacting several web services.
Users are reporting being unable to log in to their accounts to buy, sell or trade bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
Website health monitor Down Detector registered more than 500 reports of issues with the crypto exchange.
(AFP via Getty Images)
Anthony Cuthbertson22 December 2021 12:41
El Salvador president buys more bitcoin
The president of El Salvador has announced the purchase of a further 21 bitcoins, adding to the Central American country’s already-considerable stash of cryptocurrency.
Nayib Bukele shared screenshots of the latest bitcoin buy, which cost close to $1 million, noting the significance of the date, time and even the country’s size – which all line up with the 21 million bitcoins that will ever exist.
“El Salvador’s entire size is 21,000km2,” he wrote on Twitter. “Coincidence? I don’t think so!
“And today is the last 21st day of the year 21 of the 21st century.”
Anthony Cuthbertson22 December 2021 08:27
Bitcoin price revival continues
The price of bitcoin has continued its recent revival, rising above $49,500 overnight.
The gains have boosted a buoyant crypto market, which has risen by more than 2 per cent over the last 24 hours to return close to $2.3 trillion.
(CoinMarketCap)
Anthony Cuthbertson22 December 2021 08:07
CoinMarketCap has joined other tech platforms by publishing a yearly round-up, but with a slight twist.
Rather than focus on the data of individual users, CoinMarketCap Unwrapped 2021 gives a run-down of all visitors to its crypto price index.
“Just like a beloved music streaming app that most of you probably listen to every day, we at CoinMarketCap wanted to show you what you — all of you! — have been doing every day on our site,” CoinMarketCap states.
“Bitcoin hit an all-time-time, Elon Musk showed his true DOGE colours, El Salvadorians can buy groceries with Bitcoin — the list goes on.”
Turns out, bitcoin wasn’t the most popular cryptocurrency on CoinMarketCap in 2021.
(CoinMarketCap)
You can read the full round-up here.
Anthony Cuthbertson21 December 2021 20:29
Bitcoin peeps above $49,000
Bitcoin is enjoying its biggest price surge since November, briefly climbing above $49,000 before slipping slightly below again.
Less than 24 hours ago, the cryptocurrency was trading just above $45,000 – its lowest point since late September.
We reached out earlier for some expert comment on the latest market movements, we’ll be bringing it to you shortly.
(CoinMarketCap)
Anthony Cuthbertson21 December 2021 13:44
Bitcoin price showing ‘signs of life’
The latest bitcoin price surge has propelled it out of a descending channel that first formed in early December, giving hope to traders and investors.
Crypto market analyst and author Glen Goodman shared a price chart of the movement on Twitter this morning, claiming it shows “signs of life”.
When asked by one of his followers if the upward movement has encouraged him to buy BTC, Goodman said he was still “heavy with long-term positions” but didn’t rule it out.
“I’m more tempted by ETH, but this BTC pattern is quite compelling,” he said.
Anthony Cuthbertson21 December 2021 11:28
Jack Dorsey says bitcoin will replace the dollar
Popstar Cardi B has asked her 20 million+ Twitter followers whether they thing “crypto is going to replace the dollar”, with Twitter’s own Jack Dorsey responding in the affirmative.
The founder and former CEO of the platform is a well known bitcoin maximalist and recently stepped down from Twitter in order to focus more on his crypto projects like his fintech firm Block (formerly known as Square).
Earlier this year, Dorsey tweeted: “Bitcoin will unite a deeply divided country. (and eventually: world).”
Anthony Cuthbertson21 December 2021 10:36
US city becomes first to add crypto as payroll option
A city in Tennessee is set to become the first in the Unite States to add cryptocurrency as a payroll option for employees.
Jackson City Mayor Scott Conger, who is a long-standing bitcoin advocate, said the move will “bring more opportunity” to the district and provide local government with different ways to finance things.
“It’s not something that’s going to be required,” he told the Jackson Sun. “It’s an alternative. Think of it like you’re investing in the stock market. What do you want to do? You’re want to diversify your investments. And this is just another way to diversify the portfolio of how we generate revenue – potentially throughout the city.”
(Wikimedia Commons)
Anthony Cuthbertson20 December 2021 15:17
Crypto for Christmas?
A new consumer survey in the UK has revealed that nearly three quarters (71 per cent) of 18-34-year olds would be happy to receive cryptocurrency as a last-minute Christmas gift.
The same survey, carried out by Scottish crypto startup Zumo, also found that only 16 per cent of Brits would actually know how to buy bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies.
Zumo CEO Nick Kones said: “It’s a great shame that most people don’t know the first thing about how to buy someone crypto as a Christmas gift. The good news is that it’s never been easier for people to buy, sell and spend crypto in the real world. Christmas is a great time for people who want to step into crypto but don’t know how.”
Anthony Cuthbertson20 December 2021 11:10