Bitcoin, known for its extreme volatility, saw a significant increase of 5.27% in the past 24 hours on Thursday, reaching a trading price of $67,170 in the international cryptocurrency markets according to data from CoinDesk.
The cryptocurrency had faced a decline of up to 10% earlier this week due to profit-booking, but sentiment reversed after US Federal Reserve head Jerome Powell’s dovish speech. This led to a rise in crypto tokens once again.
CoinDesk data shows that while Bitcoin saw a spike of over 5%, Ethereum also rose by 6% to reach $3,555, Binance Coin jumped by 5.6% to $562, and Solana experienced a significant increase of almost 10% to reach $190.
In a surprising turn of events, Dogecoin also rose by 18% in the crypto market.
The table below, sourced from Coinmarketcap, shows the wide volatility seen in Bitcoin’s prices in the past few days. The price hit a high of $73,000 on March 13 but declined to $61,000 on March 19. Today, it has spiked to $67,000 but remains 8% lower than its all-time high of $73,127.
Date BTC ($)
Mar 13: 73,083
Mar 14: 71,396
Mar 19: 61,912
Mar 21: 67,261
The susceptibility to manipulation in the crypto economy is evident when considering the relatively small amount of liquidity available on exchanges, often just a few hundred million dollars. Gaurav Mehta, Co-founder and CEO of Catax- Simple Crypto Taxes, explains this volatility and manipulation in cryptocurrency prices.
Bitcoin hit a high of $73,000 on March 13, making it the eighth largest asset worldwide by market capitalization. This surge in price was driven by the clearance of spot Bitcoin ETFs by the US markets regulator, Securities and Exchange Commission (Sebi’s counterpart in America).
Experts remain optimistic about the future of Bitcoin’s price. Standard Chartered has revised its year-end prediction for Bitcoin, raising it from $100,000 to $150,000.
The next significant price trigger is expected to be the Bitcoin-halving event, but there are several other factors that will play a role in influencing its price in the near future.
According to most experts, Bitcoin’s price fluctuation is reflective of market volatility. They advise investors to remain confident in crypto assets and view price fluctuations from a long-term perspective.
Minal Thukral, Executive Vice President of Growth and Strategy at CoinDCX, suggests that investors should adopt a long-term approach and have a diversified portfolio to mitigate the effects of volatility.
Parth Chaturvedi, Investments Lead at CoinSwitch Ventures, explains the recent price correction in Bitcoin, attributing it to factors such as US inflation data exceeding expectations and heavy outflows from Grayscale’s GBTC ETF. However, the market is expected to continue experiencing volatility until the halving event in April, and investors should exercise caution when taking leveraged positions.
Rajagopal Menon, Vice President at WazirX, believes that the long-term trajectory for Bitcoin is bullish, based on historical cycles and the impact of the halving event. He predicts continued growth in the market until 2025, with corrections seen as opportunities for accumulation.
In other news, Indian crypto exchange OKX announced that it will end its services and customers are required to close their positions by the end of April to withdraw their funds. To operate in India, a crypto exchange must be registered with the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU Ind) India, which OKX had not done. So far, 28 firms have registered with FIU Ind.
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