Bitcoin price news – live: Crypto market steadies as BTC enters rare ‘oversold’ territory
The price of bitcoin has slipped below $49,000 on Thursday after briefly returning above $50,000 on Wednesday, with one metric placing the crypto market on the “extreme fear” end of the scale following last week’s crash.
The Fear and Greed Index, which measures market sentiment, hit its lowest level since July after BTC dropped as low as $45,000 on Friday, with some cryptocurrency analysts and investors using this as a key signal to buy.
Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Binance Coin (BNB), Solana (SOL) and Cardano (ADA) are all down by between 1-5 per cent over the last 24 hours.
The combined losses have wiped around $100 billion from the overall crypto market, pushing it back below $2.3 trillion.
Bitcoin remains a long way off the all-time high it experienced last month of close to $69,000, with experts divided over whether the market has turned bearish, or will rebound to new record highs before the end of the year.
We’ll have all the latest news, analysis and expert price predictions right here.
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Key points
World’s third largest bitcoin holder buys the dip
Bitcoin price holds above $50k
Bitcoin price enters rare ‘oversold’ territory
Decentralised crypto exchange enables bitcoin trading
15:19 , Anthony Cuthbertson
A decentralised exchange run on the DeFi protocol Sienna Network has enabled trading with bitcoin and monero, in a move that has been endorsed by ‘Bitcoin Jesus’ Roger Ver.
Users of SiennaSwap DEX will be able to trade BTC and XMR with the Sienna token. In the two months since it launched SiennaSwap has generated over $254 million in trade volumes, attracting users through its privacy-focussed mandate.
“Maintaining privacy while enabling DeFi for monero and bitcoin is crucial and Sienna Network seems to be doing exactly that,” Ver told CoinTelegraph.
Microstrategy buys even more bitcoin
13:19 , Andrew Griffin
Microstrategy, the software firm probably better known as a huge holder of bitcoins, is now holding even more of them. Chief executive Michael Saylor says it has bought 1,434 bitcoins for about $82.4 million in cash at an average price of $57,477 each.
That means it now has about 122,478 bitcoins, which it has spent $3.66 billion on. They were bought for an average of about $29,861 each, almost exactly half of what today’s cost.
‘Crypto’ mentioned 6.6m times on Reddit in 2021
12:19 , Anthony Cuthbertson
Reddit’s annual review has revealed that cryptocurrency was the most popular theme on the platform over the last year.
The term ‘crypto’ received more than 6.6 million mentions between January and November, while there are now more than 500 communities on Reddit dedicated to cryptocurrency.
The sub-Reddit r/dogecoin was the most popular of all of them, which has fostered the meme coin’s community since its early days.
You can read the full story here:
Cryptocurrency is Reddit’s most popular theme in 2021
Crypto CEOs testify at congressional hearing
10:12 , Anthony Cuthbertson
The CEOs of several leading cryptocurrency firms appeared before the US House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday to answer questions about digital currencies and stablecoins.
Among them were Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire, Bitfury CEO Brian Brooks and Coinbase CEO Alesia Haas, who sat through the nearly five hour hearing held by nearly 40 lawmakers.
The market appears unmoved by the event, despite some attempts from the politicians to frame crypto in a negative light. Perhaps because those critical appeared to have little understanding of what they’re talking about.
Here’s what Congressman Brad Sherman had to say:.
tell me you don't understand crypto without telling me you don’t understand cryptopic.twitter.com/boToAl3qjd
— LilMoonLambo (@LilMoonLambo) December 8, 2021
02:49 , Vishwam Sankaran
Bitcoin remains stable around $50,000 mark
The price of bitcoin has slipped by about 1 per cent in the last 24 hours and has remained stable around the $50,000 mark.
Meanwhile, ethereum has grown by about 2 per cent and is currently valued at $4,400.
Other top cryptocurrencies including cardano and solana have not changed in value compared to their prices 24 hours earlier.
The overall crypto market has not changed in value in the last day and is currently priced at about $2.37 trillion.
Visa crypto advisory service pushes bitcoin ‘into mainstream'
Wednesday 8 December 2021 19:50 , Anthony Cuthbertson
Today’s announcement from Visa that it will roll out a crypto advisory service for banks and retailers will help push bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies into the mainstream, according to cryptocurrency expert Kaj Burchardi, managing director at BCG Platinion.
By educating financial institutions, the world’s largest payment processor will see demand for such services sky rocket.
“Cryptocurrencies are becoming more mainstream, and now a much greater consideration for both retailers and traditional financial services business,” Burchardi told us. “Today’s Visa advisory announcement is evidence of this [and] paired with the news that it will allow cryptocurrency to complete transactions across its payment network can provide traditional financial institutions with an opportunity to bridge the gap between fintech and their traditional counterparts.”
Bitcoin hashrate hits all-time high
Wednesday 8 December 2021 17:57 , Anthony Cuthbertson
Bitcoin’s mining hashrate has bounced back to all-time highs, just six months after operations were banned in China.
Mining in China accounted for roughly 75 per cent of all production capacity earlier this year, but the nationwide crackdown on cryptocurrencies forced miners to flee to other countries. The shift has been positive both for bitcoin’s underlying network, which is now no longer so concentrated and dependent on a single market, and also the environment, as China’s mining operations were mostly powered by coal-powered energy sources.
The recovery in hashrate in such a short space of time is also remarkable, and coincides with generally positive market momentum.
World’s third largest bitcoin holder buys the dip
Wednesday 8 December 2021 13:58 , Anthony Cuthbertson
A bitcoin whale that has been accumulating vast amounts of cryptocurrency since 2019 has just bought another $150 million worth of BTC.
The unknown investor is the world’s third largest bitcoin holder, with the latest purchase taking their total holdings close to $6 billion. It bucks the trend of other large holders, who have been skimming profits from their investments following the all-time high seen in November.
The ‘buy the dip’ mentality is evidence that this bull market may not yet be over, according to one analyst we spoke to.
You can read the full story here:
Mystery bitcoin ‘whale’ suddenly buys massive amount of cryptocurrency
Bitcoin price holds above $50k
Wednesday 8 December 2021 09:53 , Anthony Cuthbertson
Bitcoin is managing to keep its head above the $50,000 mark on Wednesday morning, but only just.
A 2 per cent dip in price has seen it fall to within a few hundred dollars of the $50k mark, while Ethereum (ETH), Binance Coin (BNB), and Ripple (XRP) saw similar drops in value.
None of the leading cryptocurrencies saw any gains since this time yesterday, with some actually seeing some relatively losses - most notably Solana (SOL), which fell 7 per cent, and Cardano (ADA), which dropped by more than 5 per cent.
Most bitcoin investors are new
Tuesday 7 December 2021 16:20 , Anthony Cuthbertson
The majority of current bitcoin holders are new to the market, according to new research from crypto firm Grayscale.
Roughly 55 per cent of BTC investors bought in over the last 12 months, as interest and demand in the cryptocurrency shot up alongside its price.
Bitcoin has risen more than 200 per cent since this time last year, but it’s been a bumpy ride to get here.
“It is becoming increasingly difficult for investors to ignore bitcoin as its price continues to rise,” Grayscale said, noting that investors are increasingly treating it as a store of value.
Bitcoin price growth failing to go parabolic in Q4 is ‘healthy'
Tuesday 7 December 2021 13:09 , Anthony Cuthbertson
Many analysts had predicted bitcoin’s price to reach above $100,000 before the end of 2021, though with the cryptocurrency still at just half that figure this projection is looking less likely by the day. While some ultra-bullish bitcoiners believe it still can reach such heights, others are making more cautious, yet still positive, forecasts.
Crypto commentator Benjamin Cowen believes the lack of massive price gains in the final months of the year is a good thing for bitcoin long-term, and suggests that the 2020/21 bull run still holds a lot of potential.
“Bitcoin and crypto looks good to me,” he tweeted, alongside a graph that charts the trajectory he expects for BTC’s price over the next two years. “No parabolic Q4, which is healthy and in line with the idea that the market cycle still has a long way to go.”
#Bitcoin and #crypto looks good to me. No parabolic Q4, which is healthy and in line with the idea that the market cycle still has a long way to go. pic.twitter.com/7uxssFbgsj
— Benjamin Cowen (@intocryptoverse) December 6, 2021
Bitcoin price enters rare ‘oversold’ territory
Tuesday 7 December 2021 10:19 , Anthony Cuthbertson
Another bitcoin price metric has just hit a buy signal, according to one expert.
Philip Swift, an analyst at crypto market intelligence firm DecenTrader, noted that BTC has entered rare “oversold” territory that it has only been in seven times in the last eight years.
Bitcoin’s Advanced NVT Signal, which uses market capitalisation and network volume to calculate if the cryptocurrency is overbought or oversold, fell deep into the oversold region following the latest market downturn.
“A lot of fear in the market currently, which makes me bullish,” Swift tweeted this morning. “Lots of indicators suggest we are near a bottom.”
1/ A lot of fear in the market currently, which makes me bullish.
Lots of indicators suggest we are near a bottom.
Advanced NVT Signal looks at price relative to onchain transactions. It has only been this oversold a few times before, each time resulting in a strong bounce. pic.twitter.com/binLC6AgZX— Philip Swift (@PositiveCrypto) December 7, 2021
Tuesday 7 December 2021 03:01 , Vishwam Sankaran
Crypto market showing signs of recovery from Friday crash
The prices of bitcoin and ethereum have improved over the last 24 hours, rising by nearly 4 per cent.
However, bitcoin is still down by over 11 per cent compared to its value a week earlier.
Other cryptocurrencies, including cardano and polkadot have also grown by 3 to 5 per cent in the last day but are still down compared to their prices 7 days earlier.
The overall crypto market has grown by about 3.5 per cent in the last 24 hours and is currently valued at about $2.36 trillion.
Meme coins dogecoin and its spinoff shiba inu are also down by over 15 per cent in the last week, but seem to be recovering, growing by about 4 per cent in the last 24 hours.
The chart still looks mostly red with some signs of recovery.
Happy birthday Dogecoin!
Monday 6 December 2021 14:49 , Anthony Cuthbertson
Today marks the eighth birthday of dogecoin, the original meme cryptocurrency.
Co-creator Billy Markus, who counts Elon Musk and Jack Dorsey among his Twitter followers, celebrated in typical style with a gif of a Shiba Inu dog wearing a party hat.
2021 was the second strangest year of my life, only eclipsed by 2013.
The year dogecoin was born.
Happy 8th birthday to you, cryptocurrency plus funny yellow dog ~ pic.twitter.com/SID1SF30z3— Shibetoshi Nakamoto (@BillyM2k) December 6, 2021
This year was the first time since Markus reinvested in the cryptocurrency, having spent his original holdings not long after the cryptocurrency was created in 2013.
Myself and video producer Charlie Craven made this short video earlier this year, just as its price was once again taking off, to explain what all the fuss is about.
PlanB still bullish on bitcoin price
Monday 6 December 2021 13:43 , Anthony Cuthbertson
One of the few things to keep pace with the crypto market’s growth over the last 12 months has been the follower count of PlanB, the pseudonymous Dutch analyst whose Stock-to-Flow (S2F) price prediction model for bitcoin has been hailed for its accuracy.
PlanB’s Twitter following has risen from tens of thousands to more than 1.6 million since this time last year, as cryptocurrency investors and watchers seek to garner insights into the market from his posts.
The S2F model he is most famous for puts BTC on a path to reach above $100,000 this cycle, though the latest crash has left some doubts over whether it can be reached. After a brief hiatus, he is back to assure his followers that he still has faith in bitcoin returning to new all-time highs.
#Bitcoin status pic.twitter.com/HyxYwtOBMz
— PlanB (@100trillionUSD) December 6, 2021
“Bitcoin realised cap still increasing after March $58.8K close .. you can not keep the ball under water forever,” he tweeted today.
Crypto ‘bank heist’ sees BitMart exchange lose $196m
Monday 6 December 2021 12:19 , Anthony Cuthbertson
The CEO of BitMart has confirmed the cryptocurrency exchange has suffered a “large-scale security breach”, resulting in the loss of an estimated $196 million.
Sheldon Xia said any users impacted by the hack will be compensated, and that deposits and withdrawals will resume at some point tomorrow.
One security expert told The Independent that it is “a modern version of a bank heist with arguably less risk and less effort”, and warned hackers may be encouraged by its success.
You can read the full story here.
Crypto ‘bank heist’ sees hackers get away with $196m
Crypto market in ‘extreme fear'
Monday 6 December 2021 10:49 , Anthony Cuthbertson
A popular metric for measuring crypto market sentiment has entered a period of “extreme fear”.
The Fear & Greed Index swung wildly to the left following the latest cryptocurrency crash, registering a score of just 16 compared to a score of 71 last month, when sentiment was pointed towards greed.
This is the lowest level since July, when the price of bitcoin briefly fell below $30,000. What followed was a solid market rally leading to new all-time highs, with some analysts and market commentators using the metric as a signal to buy. “Extreme fear, buy. Extreme Greed, sell,” one investor noted. “Rinse and repeat.”
Hello and welcome...
Monday 6 December 2021 10:28 , Anthony Cuthbertson
to The Independent’s live coverage of the crypto market. We’ll be bringing you all the latest updates, analysis and expert price predictions for bitcoin and other leading cryptocurrencies – as well as occasionally news of the more obscure ones.
