[ad_1]
Last Week In Bitcoin is a series that discusses the previous week’s events that took place in the Bitcoin industry, covering all the important news and analysis.
Week summary
It has been a stormy week for bitcoin as El Salvador has officially started accepting bitcoin as legal tender, giving citizens $30 worth of bitcoin each and paving the way for further worldwide adoption. Global giants like McDonald’s and Starbucks have started accepting bitcoins in the country, and who knows maybe they will start doing the same elsewhere in the near future.
Of course, not everything went well this week, although it can only be considered a historic week for Bitcoin. On the same day that Salvadorans queued up to receive their bitcoins and begin using them across the country, bitcoin experienced a dramatic tumble that many see as a coordinated effort to undermine the currency. Here’s what happened this week in Bitcoin:
Historical bullish week
On Monday, Bitcoin kicked off what many were hoping would be a bullish week 51,000 dollars hacked For the first time since May 14, 2021, in the lead-up to El Salvador officially accepting bitcoin as legal tender. Neb Bukele, President of El Salvador, announced on Monday that the country had bought its first 200 bitcoins, Get an extra 200 bitcoins early on Tuesday.
Interestingly, banks and markets across the US were closed on Monday as it was Labor Day, but as we all know; Bitcoin is never closed.
Tuesday was a stormy day for bitcoin. Bill Miller, a famous investor, announced Bitcoin as an alternative to investing in gold, Saying “We’re still early” In reference to investing in bitcoin and its potential value in the not-too-distant future. But this, of course, may not have been noticed by many because Tuesday was filled with other, more “important” news.
El Salvador Bitcoin has been officially implemented as legal tender On Tuesday and started rolling out the Chivo wallet, ATMs and kiosks across the country. That’s right, an entire country now accepts bitcoin. Domestic and international businesses across El Salvador have begun accepting bitcoin payments with fast food giant McDonald’s and global coffee giant Starbucks joining the fray.
Early in the morning Bitcoin broke through $52,000, last seen on May 12, 2021, and seemed set to run well, but the market had other ideas. By midday, Bitcoin was down as much as 17%, briefly dropping below $43,000 before recovering to end the day below $47,000. The drop was enough incentive for the Salvadoran government to pile up some of the chains, and buy an additional 150 bitcoins, bringing its total holdings to 550 bitcoins. That’s right, a country holds 550 BTC in its vault.
But Tuesday wasn’t all about El Salvador as NBA legend Stephen Curry and bitcoin exchange firm FTX announced a partnership to “demystify” bitcoin to the average consumer. As the day draws to a close, Jeffrey Kendrick, Head of Bitcoin and New Cryptocurrency Research at Standard Chartered, told clients in a note on Tuesday: “As a medium of exchange, bitcoin may become the dominant peer-to-peer payment method. The banks of the world are in a cashless world in the future” and “periodically, we expect a peak of around $100,000 in late 2021 or early 2022.” That’s bullish for a $789 billion company.
On Wednesday, Union Investments, a $500 billion German-based investment firm, said that it has a bitcoin pilot program in the works, and that it will offer its clients bitcoin. Later in the day, Blockstream announced a partnership with Macquarie Group, a $428 billion investment and a leading investor in global renewable energy infrastructure, to pilot a bitcoin mining facility and explore alternative, carbon-neutral energy sources to power such operations.
Wednesday also, Dan Tabero, CEO of 10T Holdings, said: “Bitcoin soars to $400,000 or $500,000 and maybe more.” Bitcoin bulls continue to grow during the week.
On Thursday, Ukraine made headlines around the world when its parliament passed a law legalizing bitcoin in the country. The bill was first introduced in the fall of 2020 and passed a total of 276 lawmakers in favor of it, with only six against. Ukrainians are now free to trade and own bitcoin.
Also on Thursday, controversial investment app Robinhood added dollar average cost (DCA) to its bitcoin derivatives product, allowing users to buy and hold bitcoin on the platform. However, they did not say if their service would improve.
During the Bitmain Digital Mining Conference on Thursday, Miami Mayor and laser enthusiast Francis Suarez concluded his speech by challenging the public to “get out there and elect the next president of the United States to be a professional bitcoin head.”
Finally, on CNBC’s Squawk Box, Rick Rieder, CIO of BlackRock, said Thursday that he owns bitcoin and that he believes its price could rise “significantly” in the future. In August 2021, BlackRock committed over $382 million to the shares of bitcoin mining giants Marathon Digital Holdings and Riot Blockchain.
Not without bumps
This week has not been without negative news. On Tuesday, as Bitcoin launched in El Salvador as legal tender, Bitcoin tumbled nearly 17%, briefly hitting $42,900 before recovering to end the day just below $47,000. Many speculated that the sudden drop was a coordinated effort by the major players to undermine El Salvador’s bid and to dissuade other nations from following the same path.
Although the week started off great, with bitcoin briefly rallying above $52,850 on Tuesday, its tumble on Tuesday did not yet see a recovery to nearly $50,000, after dropping below $45,000 several times this week, and on the Especially on Friday.
Speaking on Friday, Dmitry Peskov, acting press secretary for Russian President Vladimir Putin, said on Friday that Russia had no reason to recognize bitcoin and that he was not convinced that using bitcoin would bring any benefits to the Russian Federation. Not overly bearish but still not positive.
Rule
Overall, I’m still as optimistic as ever. An entire country has legal tender for bitcoin, and now bitcoin HODLs are in its vault, one of the history books. Should bitcoin meet analysts’ expectations over the next decade or two – $10 million per bitcoin anyone? Besides El Salvador paving the way for others, the legalization of bitcoin in Ukraine is a huge step forward, legitimizing bitcoin as an asset and encouraging its wider adoption.
I remain skeptical as to whether this week’s sudden drop was a coordinated effort or just a normal market correction that occurred on the same day that Bitcoin made a huge leap forward. “Buy the rumors, sell the news” has been the mantra for many over the years and it seems to be exactly what happened.
With Standard Chartered join the likes of me and Bloomberg In anticipating a target of over $100,000 for bitcoin in the near future, I find solace in taking an overview of the market, rather than worrying over the past week and what is to come the next. Bitcoin still has tremendous room for growth and I remain steadfast in my belief that six-digit Bitcoin is not too far away.
This week has been in the making, and despite some headwinds, bitcoin is poised for a nice rally towards the end of the year.
This is a guest post by Dion Guillaume. The opinions expressed are their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of BTC Inc. or Bitcoin Magazine.
[ad_2]