Bitcoin pumped above $50,000 last night as the broader crypto market regained a $2 trillion valuation, data from multiple sources showed.

Such figures were last seen in May earlier this year before a brief two-month correction across the market. Some altcoins even fell as much as -85% from their May highs, but have since crept upwards as euphoria continues to brew around the crypto market.

Bitcoin breaks $50,000

Bitcoin trades above its 34-period exponential moving average (EMA)—a tool used by traders to determine market strength and trend by calculating historic asset prices—at press time, implying a bull trend is in place since the $32,000 price level.

It, however, saw resistance at the $50,000 level. Further resistance levels, as the below image shows, are at the $58,000 price level and at upwards of $60,000.

Ethereum, the world’s second-largest asset by market cap, shows a similar market structure. ETH trades above the 34-period EMA, continuing its uptrend since the $1,900 price level. Resistance, however, exists at the $3,300 level at press time, with further resistance zones at $3,500, $3,900, and $4,300.

What are alts doing?

Other top cryptocurrencies have continued to post big gains in the past week. Binance Coin (BNB), which powers the Binance Smart Chain, Binance Chain, and can be used on crypto exchange Binance, rose 16% in the past week buoyed by higher demand for BNB on the smart contract-ready Binance Smart Chain.

Polkadot, the decentralized Web 3.0 services platform, rose 21% in the past week as traders sought investments on Layer-1 ecosystems outside of Ethereum. 

Avalanche (AVAX), Cosmos (ATOM), and Fantom (FTM), also posted gains of 140%, 40%, and 62% respectively, with regional favorites ICON and Terra also rising 25% and 100% each.

Like what you see? Subscribe for updates.

Despite a string of heavy financial losses, Mike Novogratz – the head of Galaxy Digital Holdings Ltd – is remaining positive about bitcoin and the growing digital finance space.

Mike Novogratz Is Looking to Start a Bitcoin ETF

In a recent interview, Novogratz has revealed that his company has applied with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to begin a bitcoin-based exchange-traded fund (ETF), which has arguably been the object of many crypto companies’ affection over the past four years. While no company has ever come close to getting a green light, this isn’t stopping them from throwing their hats into the ring.

In the same conversation, Novogratz also revealed that his company incurred losses of more than $175 million during the second quarter of 2021. To be fair, this was a difficult time for all digital currency-related businesses given that bitcoin initially began the quarter out on a high note only to come crashing down just weeks later.

The world’s number one digital currency by market cap hit a new peak of approximately $64,000 per unit in mid-April, thereby hitting its highest point yet. However, by early May, the currency took a turn for the worse, and dived into the mid-$40,000 range, losing about $20,000 in value in just a matter of weeks. From there, the currency fell into the high $30,000 range and then briefly fell below $30K.

Many individuals thought this was the end; that bitcoin had reached its breaking point and that the currency was likely to disappear without a trace, though the currency has recovered somewhat and is now trading for about $45,000 per unit once again. In a statement, Galaxy Digital was clear regarding its Q2 losses, claiming:

During the quarter, our results were impacted by a 34 percent decline in overall digital asset prices and a 41 percent decline in the price of bitcoin, relative to the end of the first quarter.

By comparison, the same space in 2020 saw Galaxy Digital earning more than $35 million. Shares in Galaxy Digital dropped by more than 12 percent following the negative news. However, Novogratz refuses to let this little slip get him down. Rather confidently, he stated:

Listen, we lost money last quarter. We lost about ten percent, a little more than ten percent of our equity. That’s when bitcoin was down 41 percent. That doesn’t bother me. Year-to-date VC investment in crypto and blockchain companies stands at $9 billion with nearly $6 billion invested in Q2 alone. By comparison, 2020 average is closer to one billion of investment per quarter.

An ETF Will Only Work for Certain People

In addition, Novogratz acknowledges that many companies have not had success with their bitcoin ETF applications, though he predicts things will be different for Galaxy Digital. He also said:

Investors seeking direct exposure to the price of bitcoin should consider an investment other than the fund.

Tags: bitcoin, Bitcoin ETF, Mike Novogratz

Gareth Soloway – chief market strategist at InTheMoneyStocks – is not impressed by bitcoin’s recent price increase. He argued that the primary cryptocurrency’s USD value would soon reach $50,000-52,000, but will eventually tumble to $18,000.

Would History Repeat Itself?

In a recent interview for Kitco News, Gareth Soloway – the President of InTheMoneyStocks – opined that bitcoin’s price would eventually experience a massive downturn. While he predicted that the digital asset would climb to a maximum of $52,000 in the short term, it would crash later to as low as $18,000.

“Bitcoin will eventually get to the $18,000 mark. There is really no question in my mind.”

Soloway – who is also a day trader – explained his forecast with past events. According to him, history would repeat itself just like it happened in 2013 and 2017 when bitcoin plunged after rallying significantly for a couple of months. However, things would be different if it manages to surpass its all-time high of $65,000.

It is worth noting that bitcoin’s institutional adoption and its dominance were not on their current levels back then. For example, Michael Saylor vowed not to sell any of his personal holdings or MicroStrategy’s more than 100,000 BTC coins, whatever the price. With that said, such a huge move south seems fairly unlikely.

Soloway scratched the topic about gold, too. He categorized it as the better asset than bitcoin. Despite having price corrections occasionally, the precious metal would always be the most dominant financial instrument, he added.

The top executive foresees that large corporations will start investing more and more in both bitcoin and gold to offset their dollar holdings and “basically protect the value of the dollar from the mass printing.”

Different Point of Views

Bitcoin’s volatility and its future value have always been hot conversational topics among investors and analysts. While Soloway’s opinion is rather skeptical, many individuals shared entirely different predictions recently.

For example, Thomas Lee – a Managing Partner at Fundstrat Global Advisors – believes bitcoin and the market itself will skyrocket once the delta variant of COVID-19 passes its peak. He expects to see the primary cryptocurrency trading at around $100,000 in the upcoming months.

Interestingly, his recent forecast is very similar to the one she shared last year. Back then, Lee stated that bitcoin would be worth $120,000 by the end of 2021.

Another bullish opinion came from the American billionaire Tim Draper. He said that despite the volatility in the crypto market, the primary digital asset would hit $250,000 in one year time. Draper believes that numerous large corporations would follow the example of Microsoft, Starbucks, PayPal, Home Depot and accept bitcoin as a means of payment:

”Give it about a year and a half and retailers will all be on OpenNode [bitcoin payment processor], so everybody will accept bitcoin.”

Source