/latest/2018/12/bitcoin-bounces-back-to-3300-as-crypto-market-holds-on-to-100-billion-mark/
Bitcoin, the flagship cryptocurrency, has recently seen its price rise to little over $3,300 after the cryptocurrency ecosystem nearly saw its value dipped below the $100 billion mark. Currently, most top cryptocurrencies are posting significant gains.
This week, as reported, bitcoin hit a 15-month low slightly below the $3,200 mark. The cryptocurrency’s sell-off has been going on since December of last year, and started after it hit an all-time high of nearly $20,000.
Currently, it’s up 3.5% in the last 24-hour period, as it’s trading slightly above the $3,300 mark. Its market cap is of $57.4 billion, as its share of the crypto ecosystem has now grown to about 55%.
Bitcoin’s recovery may, for now, be short-lived, as various analysts have pointed out we’re currently in a support zone. Speaking to CryptoGlobe Mati Greenspan, a senior market analyst at eToro, noted there’s a strong support at $3,000, but that he wouldn’t be surprised if BTC dropped below it before bottoming out.
According to Forbes Natalia Karayaneva, the CEO of real estate startup Propy, has argued cryptocurrency prices have been going down as billions of dollars have flowed into blockchain-based startups in the last few months, and that taxes will have to be paid next year. She was quoted as saying:
At the end of the year, entrepreneurs need to pay taxes and plan 2019. This crypto sell-off drove the panic further.
Karayaneva added that even though cryptocurrency entrepreneurs are driving the space forward, they still have to cover their expenses. Per her words, things may improve next year once some decentralized applications (dApps), security tokens, and protocols start to take off.
Notably, bitcoin permabull Tom Lee, the head of research at Fundstrat Global Advisors, has recently argued the market is wrong about BTC, as he estimates its “fair value” to be “between $13,800 and $14,800.”
Altcoin Post Significant Gains
Bitcoin isn’t the only cryptocurrency moving up. In the last 24-hour period, various top altcoins, including Dash and Litecoin, have risen by double-digit percentages, while most others are up by well over 5%.
According to CryptoCompare, Ethereum’s ether is up 5% as it’s trading at $87.8, while the XRP token is at $0.29 after rising 2.6%. EOS and BCH are up 7.5% and 5.4%, and are trading at $2 and $80.2 respectively.
Privacy-centric cryptocurrencies Zcash and Monero (XMR) are up 7.8% and 5.4% respectively, Tron’s TRX rose 4.5% to $0.013. Waves, a cryptocurrency that has been bucking the bearish trend this month, rose 0.4% to $2.45.
Exactly how Lee got to his figure is unclear, although reports have suggested that following his model, BTC would be worth $150,000 if its number of wallets got to 7% of Visa’s 4.5 billion accounts.