Bitcoin (BTC) reported another plunge below $95,000 late on Tuesday, falling to a low of $94,435 before recovering and climbing back above $97,000. The cryptocurrency is up marginally over the past 24 hours, trading around the $97,500 mark.
The decline comes shortly after the markets witnessed $1.5 billion in liquidations, impacting over 500,000 traders. BTC’s sudden drop also significantly impacted the rest of the market, with the total market capitalization shrinking by over 7%.
Meanwhile, Ethereum (ETH) continued to trade in the red, with the price marginally down at $3,660. Ripple (XRP) has recovered from its recent drop, with the price up almost 8% and trading at $2.33. Dogecoin (DOGE) and Polkadot (DOT) also registered notable declines. Meanwhile, Tron (TRX), Cardano (ADA), Toncoin (TON), Stellar (XLM), and Uniswap (UNI) registered notable increases.
Google Unveils New Quantum Chip. Can It Crack Bitcoin?
Google has just announced its latest supercomputer chip, Willow. Willow can perform computations that would take today’s supercomputers years in minutes. The chip garnered significant attention from the crypto community, which discussed its ability to crack secure blockchain networks and render the security of public key cryptography useless. The chip has led to considerable anxiety in some sections of the Bitcoin community, thanks to its potential to compromise Bitcoin’s security and cryptographic techniques.
Willow boasts 105 qubits and an astonishing ability to minimize computational errors. According to a Google post, it can perform a benchmark test in under five minutes, a task that would take today’s supercomputers around 10 septillion years to complete. The crypto community has mixed views about Willow and its potential to impact BTC and crypto. Some feel the technology could end encryption and crack Bitcoin. On the other hand, most of the community believes Willow has several shortcomings when tested with Bitcoin’s security.
Bitcoin advocate Ben Sigman pointed out that BTC uses two types of encryption: The Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA) and the SHA-256 secure hashtag algorithm. Sigman pointed out that both encryptions require millions of qubits to break through, meaning Willow, with 105 qubits, is far from cracking Bitcoin’s encryption.
“Q: Can Google’s Willow crack Bitcoin? Estimates indicate that compromising Bitcoin’s encryption would necessitate a quantum computer with approximately 13 million qubits to achieve decryption within 24 hours. In contrast, Google’s Willow chip, while a significant advancement, comprises 105 qubits. We have a ways to go… Nonetheless, this is a remarkable leap forward in quantum computing.”
Others pointed out that crypto should be the least of worries if Willow or similarly capable chips can break encryption standards, stating,
“If quantum computing breaks encryption, crypto would be the least of your worries. It will – expose government & military secrets – exploit banking systems – and turn private chats public, but Google’s Willow is at 105 qubits. Breaking bitcoin needs 13 million qubits – still a long way.”
Microsoft Shareholders Reject Bitcoin Reserve
Microsoft shareholders voted against a resolution to add Bitcoin (BTC) to the company’s balance sheets. The resolution was proposed by The National Center for Public Policy Research (NCPPR), a think-tank based in Washington DC framing it as a corporate duty to provide value to shareholders through profit diversification. The NCPPR submitted a video outlining the proposal that played during the meeting. The video, peppered with charts and figures, discussed BTC’s potential and the advantages of adding it to the company’s balance sheets.
“The institutional and corporate adoption of Bitcoin is becoming more commonplace. Microsoft’s second-largest shareholder, BlackRock, offers its clients a Bitcoin ETF.”
The proposal also discussed BTC’s volatility, stating it was more volatile than corporate bonds, and advised against holding too much of the asset. However, it advised against ignoring Bitcoin altogether.
“As the proposal itself notes, volatility is a factor to consider in evaluating cryptocurrency investments for corporate treasury applications that require stable and predictable investments to ensure liquidity and operational funding.”
Trump To Make Bitcoin (BTC) A Central Focus
President-elect Donald Trump will make Bitcoin (BTC) a central focus of his administration as he aims to push its price to $150,000. According to sources from Trump’s transition team, the president-elect views BTC as another stock market and anticipates a potential price surge to $150,000 early in his term. Trump’s interest in BTC and crypto is part of a broader initiative to position the US as the global leader in crypto and other emerging technologies. David Sacks, a former PayPal executive, has been appointed as the White House AI and Crypto Czar and tasked with creating a clear regulatory framework for the industry.
The incoming administration hopes to promote regulations that provide clarity for crypto and crypto businesses while fostering innovation.
Bitcoin (BTC) Price Analysis
Bitcoin (BTC) fell sharply at the beginning of the week as sellers drove the price to a low of $94,177. While it has recovered from this level, BTC is still struggling to get back above $98,000, a level where sellers are active. BTC and the crypto market hit a significant bump over the past few days. Prices crashed abruptly, shaving off billions in value, with the crypto market cap dropping over 8% in 24 hours. Despite dropping significantly on Monday, BTC made an impressive recovery and has weathered the storm well, but the same cannot be said about other altcoins like Ethereum (ETH) and Solana (SOL). The crash was due to high leverage, liquidity issues, and market weakness.
The market selloff began with aggressive selling on Coinbase as traders started offloading their assets an hour before the crash began. The selling pressure gradually pushed BTC into a liquidation cascade. Looking at the price chart, we can see BTC’s momentum waning as it entered the current week. BTC rebounded from an intraday low of $93,665 on Tuesday, registering an increase of almost 3% on Wednesday and settling at $98,581. BTC experienced significant volatility on Thursday, creating history by moving past the $100,000 mark and setting a new all-time high of $103,900. However, buyers lost momentum after reaching this level, and BTC crashed to a low of $92,285, briefly dipping below the 20-day SMA. BTC recovered from this level to go above $95,000 and settle at $97,023, ultimately registering a decline of 1.51%.
Source: TradingView
BTC recovered on Friday as it rose by almost 3%, reaching a high of $101,913 before settling at $99,695. Buyers maintained control on Saturday as BTC registered a marginal increase before climbing above $100,000 again on Sunday and settling at $101,043. Markets suffered a dramatic collapse on Monday, and BTC plummeted to an intraday low of $94,177 before settling at $97,434, ultimately registering a drop of almost 4%. Sellers retained control on Tuesday as BTC registered a marginal drop to settle at $96,914 after recovering from an intraday low of $94,307. The current session sees BTC up almost 1% as buyers look to reclaim $98,000 and push toward $100,000.
BTC is facing immediate resistance at $98,000. If buyers can go above this level, BTC will look to retest $100,000. On the other hand, a drop could drop BTC to $95,000.
Ethereum (ETH) Price Analysis
Ethereum (ETH) is looking to recover after facing a substantial drop at the beginning of the current week as sellers attempted to drag it below $3,500. ETH was quite bullish last week as it rebounded from a low of $3,504, registering an increase of over 6% on Wednesday to go past $3,700 and settle at $3,844. Sellers attempted to drive ETH below $3,500 on Thursday as it fell to an intraday low of $3,644. However, buyers propped up the price from this level, and ETH ultimately settled at $3,787 after a decline of 1.48%. Despite considerable bearish sentiment and volatility, ETH recovered on Friday, registering an increase of almost 6% to go above $4,000 and settling at $4,003 after reaching an intraday high of $4,093.
Source: TradingView
With sellers active at this level, momentum waned over the weekend, as ETH registered a marginal drop on Saturday before rising by 0.19% on Sunday to reclaim $4,000 and settle at $4,007. With the markets suffering a sudden crash on Monday, ETH collapsed, falling to an intraday low of $3,504 and slipping below the 20-day SMA. However, it found support at this level and recovered to climb above the 20-day SMA and settle at $3,716, registering a drop of over 7%. Sellers retained control on Tuesday as they attempted to drive ETH below the 20-day SMA. As a result, the price fell to a low of $3,519 before settling at $3,630. The current session sees ETH up over 1% as buyers look to reclaim $3,700 and push towards $4,000. On the other hand, if sellers regain control and drive ETH below $3,500, it could fall as low as $3,200.
Solana (SOL) Price Analysis
Solana (SOL) is attempting a recovery as it rebounds from its support levels and counter growing selling pressure. SOL is struggling to go above the 20-day SMA, which acted as a dynamic level of resistance and prevented a move past $240. After dropping to an intraday low of $219 on Monday, SOL made a strong recovery on Tuesday, rising almost 4% from a low of $215 to settle at $234. Sellers regained control on Wednesday, driving SOL down nearly 2% to $229. The price rebounded on Thursday despite facing significant volatility, registering an increase of 2.84% and settling at $236 after rising to an intraday high of $244 and dropping to an intraday low of $221.
Source: TradingView
Buyers retained control on Friday as SOL rose to an intraday high of $246. However, it could not stay at this level and dropped below $240 to settle at $237, registering only a marginal increase. The weekend was mixed for SOL as it registered a marginal rise on Saturday and a slight decrease on Sunday to end the weekend at $237. Selling pressure increased substantially on Monday as SOL dropped to an intraday low of $205 as sellers attempted to drive the price below $200. However, SOL made somewhat of a recovery and climbed above the 50-day SMA to settle at $216 after a drop of almost 9%. Selling pressure persisted on Tuesday as SOL fell to $213 after a fall of 1.47%. The current session sees SOL up nearly 3% as buyers look to reclaim $220 and begin a push towards the 20-day SMA.
Dogwifhat (WIF) Price Analysis
Dogwifhat (WIF) experienced a significant rally last week, surging past the resistance at $3.50 and briefly surpassing $4 before retreating. WIF recovered from an intraday low of $2.99 to register an increase of over 5% on Tuesday. However, it could not move above the 20-day SMA and fell back on Wednesday, dropping almost 3% and settling at $3.19. Sellers drove WIF to an intraday low of $3.04 on Thursday as selling pressure persisted. However, WIF recovered from this level to register an increase of almost 5% to go above the 20-day SMA and settle at $3.35. Buyers retained control on Friday as WIF rose by 4.07% and settled at $3.48, testing the resistance at $3.50.
Source: TradingView
WIF rallied impressively on Saturday as it surged past the resistance at $3.50 after an increase of over 11% and settled at $3.87. WIF attempted to go above $4 but lost momentum. As a result, it fell on Sunday, dropping 3.68% to $3.73. Bearish sentiment intensified significantly on Monday as WIF dropped over 18% to go below the 20-day SMA and settle at $3.05. Sellers retained control on Tuesday and drove WIF below $3 and the 50-day SMA to $2.84 after a drop of 6.69%. The current session sees WIF up by 2.35% as buyers look to reclaim $3 and push the price above the 50-day SMA.
Cardano (ADA) Price Analysis
Cardano (ADA) has been facing considerable selling pressure since last week as sentiment changed to bearish after it reached an intraday high of $1.32 last Tuesday. ADA declined marginally after reaching this level and continued to drop on Wednesday, dropping 0.50% after experiencing considerable volatility. Selling pressure and volatility registered an uptick on Thursday as ADA fell after reaching an intraday high of $1.24, eventually settling at $1.16 after a drop of 2.27%. ADA recovered on Friday, rising almost 6% and settling at $1.22 but fell back in the red over the weekend, dropping by 1.38% on Saturday and 1.40% on Sunday to settle at $1.19.
Source: TradingView
Bearish sentiment intensified substantially on Monday as markets witnessed a selloff. As a result, ADA plummeted almost 16%, going below the 20-day SMA and falling to an intraday low of $0.91 before recovering to reclaim $1. Sellers made another attempt to drag ADA lower as it fell to a low of $0.91 on Tuesday. However, it recovered from this level to register an increase of 1.69% and settle at $1.02. The current session sees ADA marginally down as buyers and sellers struggle to establish control.
Aptos (APT) Price Analysis
Aptos (APT) started the previous week on a bullish note, reaching a high of $14.75 on Tuesday. However, sentiment changed on Wednesday as selling pressure and volatility registered a considerable increase. As a result, APT fell almost 3% to $14.13. Selling pressure persisted on Thursday as sellers drove APT to a low of $13.08. However, it recovered from this level to settle at $13.62, ultimately registering a decline of 3.59%. Despite considerable selling pressure, APT registered a sharp increase on Friday, rising almost 8% and settling at $14.68 as buyers attempted to overwhelm the resistance at $14.50.
Source: TradingView
APT surged to an intraday high of $15.37 on Saturday. However, buyers lost momentum after reaching this level, and the price fell to register a marginal decline and settle at $14.58. Selling pressure persisted as the price dropped marginally on Sunday, ending the weekend at $14.54. Bearish sentiment intensified considerably on Monday as APT plummeted almost 18% to slip below the 20-day SMA and the $13 support level to settle at $11.97, but not after hitting an intraday low of $10.49. Bearish sentiment persisted on Tuesday as APT briefly slipped below the 50-day SMA before recovering to settle at $11.64, ultimately registering a drop of 2.76%. The current session sees APT marginally up as buyers look to reclaim $12 and push toward the 20-day SMA.
Fantom (FTM) Price Analysis
Fantom (FTM) started the previous week on a bullish note, surging almost 14% and settling at $1.24. Despite a strong start to the week, FTM fell back into the red on Tuesday after considerable volatility. FTM ultimately registered a marginal drop to remain at $1.24. Buyers attempted to go above the resistance at $1.30 on Wednesday as FTM reached an intraday high of $1.29. However, buyers lost momentum after reaching this level, and the price fell back, dropping 2.41% and settling at $1.21. Buying activity picked up on Thursday as FTM rose 8% to move above $1.30 and settled at $1.31. Sellers attempted to drag the price below $1.30 on Friday. However, buyers prevented a decline, and FTM registered only a marginal drop to remain above $1.30.
Source: TradingView
Buyers regained control over the weekend as FTM registered a marginal increase on Saturday before rising by 1.12% on Sunday to settle at $1.33. Bearish sentiment registered a substantial jump on Monday as markets collapsed. As a result, FTM dropped almost 17%, falling to an intraday low of $1 before settling at $1.12. The price recovered on Tuesday despite considerable selling pressure and registered an increase of 3.19% to settle at $1.15. The current session sees FTM marginally up as buyers and sellers struggle to take control.
Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
