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Bitcoin‘s price continues to suffer after one of the most severe price crashes in its history this week, with the wider crypto market finally stabilising.
Ethereum (ether), Cardano (ada) and dogecoin have all remained relatively calm overnight, after Elon Musk once again committed his belief in the latter. It followed the statement – in the form of emoji – that Tesla would not be selling its substantial bitcoin holdings.
The initial crash on Wednesday was prompted by an announcement from regulators in China that cryptocurrency payments would be banned, though individuals in the country will still be permitted to own cryptocurrencies.
The news saw bitcoin fall below $31,000 – less than half the all-time high price that it reached in mid April – before recovering to around $40,000 on Thursday.
Cryptocurrency experts and market analysts appear divided over whether this crash is similar in magnitude to the one seen in 2017/18, or simply a price correction on the way to new record highs in 2021. We’ll have all the latest updates, as well as a Q&A session where you have the chance to ask our experts anything.
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1621533299How bad is bitcoin for the environment really?
There’s been a lot of discussion following that FT article today about how much energy the bitcoin network consumes and what the implications of this are for the environment.
While there are a large concentration of crypto mines in coal-burning regions of China, there are also an increasing number of green solutions that source electricity from renewable sources.
I’ve visited a couple of 100 per cent renewable operations in recent years – one in Iceland and one in Norway – and they are cheaper, greener and more efficient than their fossil fuel-guzzling counterparts.
You can read more about bitcoin’s environmental impact right here:
Anthony Cuthbertson20 May 2021 18:54
1621524881Bitcoin whales Tesla and Microstrategy trade memes
The CEOs of the two companies with the largest bitcoin holdings have been exchanging messages on Twitter.
Microstrategy holds more than 92,000 bitcoin in its corporate coffers, while Tesla has roughly 43,200.
The exchange between the two bosses came after Microstrategy CEO Michael Saylor responded to an article in the Financial Times today discussing bitcoin’s “growing energy problems”. Saylor countered the arguments in the story by calling bitcoin the “most efficient technology for converting energy into prosperity we have yet to devise.”
Musk responded, in typical fashion, with a meme of a guy pointing to his reflection in the mirror, with the text: “It’s not the bull market. You really are a genius.”
Anthony Cuthbertson20 May 2021 16:34
1621514259Crypto figures share ‘diamond hands’
Elon Musk wasn’t the only high-profile bitcoin investor to share diamond hand emojis.
The symbols, which illustrate the intention of a crypto or stock holder to not sell, have been widely shared by cryptocurrency advocates across social media.
Among them were the Winklevoss twins, who are probably best known for accusing Mark Zuckerberg of stealing their idea for a social network when they were fellow students at Harvard University. They have since gone all-in on cryptocurrency, setting up the Gemini exchange and adding vast amounts of bitcoin to their personal fortunes.
They also both still have laser eyes on their Twitter profile pics, which indicate their belief that bitcoin is heading towards $100,000.
Tyler Winklevoss followed up his tweet with this comment: “Six months ago, $37,000 would have been a dream come true. Perspective is crucial for a HODLer.”
Anthony Cuthbertson20 May 2021 13:37
1621499953Crypto analysts unpick bitcoin price crash and broader market chaos
After a chaotic day for all cryptocurrencies on Wednesday, the relative calm on Thursday morning has given market analysts a chance to unpick what just happened.
Vincent Chok, CEO of crypto firm First Digital Trust, says he is “not really concerned” about the price crash this week, claiming the space is far more mature than four years ago.
Paolo Ardoino, chief technology officer of cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex, agrees with this sentiment, adding that anyone celebrating bitcoin’s losses are people exhibiting “the very worst characteristics”, like schadenfreude.
Here’s what they had to say in full:
I’m not really concerned about the long-term effects of this. More and more financial institutions are getting involved in this space which has already legitimized this industry.
Financial institutions, hedge funds and high-wealth investors are looking at crypto beyond the investment benefits… A lot of revenue is being derived from crypto lending, asset lending, and this is just going to grow larger, despite the dips of this week.
Vincent Chok, CEO of First Digital Trust
As the financial application of the blockchain, bitcoin has emerged as an immutable and battle-tested force. Those drawing comfort from a sea of red today should remember that they come from a very different generation to the one that will use this technology in ways that will bring financial freedom to so many.
Bitcoin’s steel has been sharpened in the most adversarial conditions of the open public Internet. Critics who celebrate what they perceive as a meltdown in crypto exhibit the very worst characteristics – coupled with schadenfreude – towards a technology that is elegant in its brilliance. Those who don’t and refuse to get it will be proved wrong.
Paolo Ardoino, CTO of Bitfinex
Anthony Cuthbertson20 May 2021 09:39
1621493405Bitcoin price steady after bounce back
Bitcoin has held firm on or around the $40,000 mark overnight, bringing a welcome moment of calm for the markets.
Despite the huge losses since the all-time high above $64,000 in April, bitcoin remains in the top-10 list of global assets in terms of market cap.
(CompaniesMarketCap)
It may have slipped behind Facebook but it is still ahead of Tesla, as well as payment giants like Mastercard, PayPal and Visa.
It is also ahead of every major bank and financial institution in the world, worth more than twice that of Bank of America. One year ago, bitcoin wasn’t even in the top 30.
Anthony Cuthbertson20 May 2021 07:50
1621452515Bitcoin ‘oversold’
The last time the price of bitcoin dipped this severely was in March 2020, when the full implications of the Covid pandemic where beginning to be realised.
At that time, bitcoin dropped briefly below $4,000, as global financial markets took a pummelling from the prospect of prolonged lockdowns and the economic shutdowns that would come with them.
The crypto market crash at that time prompted many to speculate that it may actually be a good time to buy bitcoin, with even famed whistleblower Edward Snowden suggesting that bitcoin was oversold.
This sentiment is one shared by Pete Humiston, manager of Kraken Intelligence, who tells The Independent that investors may well take advantage of the market disruption to “buy the dip”.
He says: “The last time bitcoin was this oversold was in March 2020. But crypto has had a breathtaking run over the past couple of quarters, so a strong pull back and consolidation now isn’t surprising – it’s what we’ve seen in all other previous bull markets.”
Anthony Cuthbertson19 May 2021 20:28
1621449561Crypto analysts bullish about bitcoin price
Various cryptocurrency experts and market analysts that we’ve heard from so far today have been divided over whether this current crash is of a similar magnitude to the one bitcoin experienced at the end of 2017, or just a price correction on the way to new record highs.
With bitcoin’s fate still hanging in the balance, we’ve heard from two new voices who side firmly with the latter of those two options.
Here’s what Ganesh Swami, CEO and co-founder of blockchain data provider Covalent, and Antoni Trenchev, co-founder of the financial institution Nexo, had to say:
In the bull market, seeing these big drops is common. The last time we saw a bull run, Bitcoin dropped at least half a dozen times by 20-30 per cent before it went to the then all-time high.
With hundreds of projects getting built across various blockchains, key crypto segments like DeFi up at $71 billion of total value locked, NFTs getting their fair share of attention in mainstream media, Ethereum, the second-largest blockchain in the world, getting multiple efficiency updates and moving to PoS (proof-of-stake) in the upcoming months, the markets are bound to make a quick comeback sooner.
Ganesh Swami, CEO of Covalent
Every bull run within crypto has seen five to seven declines in excess of 30 per cent and this cycle is no exception. Ethereum is at a different stage in its cycle — the market seems to be struggling to stop it in its tracks.
More than anything, what this undeniably large correction and those before it prove is that the crypto market is resilient, that it’s a long-term game ill-suited to the weak-handed.
Antoni Trenchev, co-founder of Nexo
Anthony Cuthbertson19 May 2021 19:39
1621444690Bitcoin price bounces back
Bitcoin has returned back above $40,000! That’s a considerable bounce after dropping as low as $30,681 earlier today.
The rebound appears to have coincided with Elon Musk’s “diamond hands” tweet, meaning the Tesla CEO potentially both single-handedly started and ended this market downturn.
(CoinMarketCap)
It’s too early to say whether we’re actually through the worst of it, of course, but bitcoin is back above the level it was at before that panic-induced flash crash.
The next few hours could prove crucial in determining the longer-term trajectory of bitcoin and the broader cryptocurrency market.
Anthony Cuthbertson19 May 2021 18:18
1621440388What do Elon Musk’s emoji mean?
But what does it mean? Quite a lot, actually.
Andrew Griffin19 May 2021 17:06
1621437524Ask our experts anything about the crypto market crash
If you’ve got any questions about this chaotic crypto market crash, we’ve assembled two experts to provide their analysis and answer any queries you may have.
Joining us tomorrow morning will be Dr Iwa Salami, a senior lecturer in financial law at the University of East London, and Fred Schebesta, a crypto advocate and founder of the comparison platform Finder.com – which recently surveyed dozens of academics and market analysts for its April/ May 2021 Cryptocurrency Predictions Report.
They will give readers of The Independent an opportunity to ask anything they like about bitcoin and the crypto space: Was this crash expected? Is it a repeat of 2017? And what are their predictions for where it will go from here?
You can find out more about it here, and add any questions you have in the comments below the article.
Anthony Cuthbertson19 May 2021 16:18
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