Bitcoin’s price is continuing to fall, adding yet further losses to the market after a mini flash crash last week.
The same happened across the crypto market, with many others – including ethereum (ether), cardano (ada) and dogecoin trading down even further.
Bitcoin has dropped 3.6 per cent in the last 24 hours, and has now dropped more than 8 per cent in the last week.
The market as a whole has fallen almost 5 per cent over the day, according to tracking website CoinMarketCap.
That was despite a host of rumours that looked to boost the price of cryptocurrencies. One claimed that Apple is close to announcing a major investment in bitcoin, though there is currently nothing to substantiate these.
The latest movements have failed to jolt bitcoin out of its recent stasis, with the world’s leading cryptocurrency moving by less than 1 per cent week-on-week. It has failed to break above $36,000 or below $32,000 since late June, though some analysts are hopeful a big move is on its way.
According to one indicator, bitcoin is on the verge of flashing a major buying signal, similar to the one seen in October 2020.
You can follow all the latest news and analysis right here.
Market all very red
It’s another negative day in the crypto markets. All of the big coins, with the exception of stablecoins, are down – and many considerably.
Here’s the latest, from CoinMarketCap:
Andrew Griffin14 July 2021 11:38
Dormant Satoshi-era bitcoin wallet suddenly activates after nearly a decade
A dormant bitcoin address containing more than $26 million worth of cryptocurrency has come alive after nearly a decade of inactivity.
The wallet was created shortly after bitcoin’s pseudonymous creator Satoshi Nakamoto disappeared in 2012.
Movement of funds from the bitcoin address was spotted by crypto-tracking Twitter bot Whale Alert. 640 of the 791 bitcoins within the wallet were moved to an unknown address, according to blockchain records.
Anthony Cuthbertson13 July 2021 19:10
US reports sharpest inflation spike since 2008
The US Department of Labor has reported the sharpest 12-month inflation spike since 2008 in its June 2021 Consumer Price Index, published today.
Consumer prices have risen 5.4 per cent over the last year, as the economy struggles to recover from the pandemic.
It means that the dollar’s purchasing power is far lower than this time last year, pushing up the prices of everyday goods and services like cars, furniture and restaurants. Despite the recent price slump, bitcoin’s value against the dollar has actually risen three-fold over the same time period.
Bitcoin advocates have taken the opportunity to also highlight the non-inflationary nature of bitcoin, which has an in-built supply of 21 million coins that makes it immune to economic measures like quantitative easing. Among the most prominent voicing their support for the cryptocurrency were the Winklevoss twins, who described bitcoin as “the best protection in the world against inflation”.
Anthony Cuthbertson13 July 2021 18:06
Ethereum price dips below $2,000
The price of Ethereum (ether) has dropped below $2,000 for the first time since late June.
The world’s second-most valuable cryptocurrency is down more than 6 per cent over the last 24 hours and down more than 15 per cent week-on-week, according to CoinMarketCap.
Of the top 10 leading cryptocurrencies, only Uniswap has seen a bigger price fall over the same period. Not a single one has seen any gains.
You can read the full story from The Independent’s tech editor Andrew Griffin right here.
Anthony Cuthbertson13 July 2021 14:10
Bank of England reports ‘growing interest’ in crypto from institutional investors
The Bank of England has highlighted the growing trend of increased institutional investment in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, suggesting that there could be some more big moves into the space in 2021.
The Financial Stability Report, published today, noted how the price of bitcoin rose six-fold in the 12 months leading up to April 2021, prompting institutional investors to take note.
“Market intelligence suggests cryptoassets are largely held by retail investors, with institutional investors having limited exposure at present,” the report states.
“However, there are some signs of growing interest in cryptoassets and related services from institutional investors, banks, and key payment system operators. These developments could increase the interlinkages between cryptoassets and other systemic financial markets and institutions.”
Anthony Cuthbertson13 July 2021 13:17
Bitcoin price analyst predicts bullish breakout
A new research note from an analyst who predicted the recent bitcoin price crash has offered an optimistic take on the market’s current direction.
Katie Stockton, founder of independent research provider Fairlead Strategies, wrote that bitcoin looks more likely to break above than break below the narrow $32k-$36k band it has been trading within in recent weeks.
“The consolidation phase itself is neutral, but we think a breakout is more likely than a breakdown,” she wrote. “Intermediate-term momentum has been improving based on the MACD (Moving Average Convergence Divergence) histogram.”
Anthony Cuthbertson13 July 2021 11:29
Elon Musk says his baby is a dogecoin ‘toddler hoddler’
Elon Musk has once again been tweeting about dogecoin.
The Tesla CEO joked that the electric cars could mine dogecoin any time it spotted a Shiba Inu dog with its in-built cameras.
“Maybe if [Tesla Vision] sees a Shiba Inu, the car renders a dogecoin,” he wrote.
Anthony Cuthbertson13 July 2021 10:17
BREAKING: Record crypto haul for UK police
Police in the UK have seized £294 million ($408m) worth of cryptocurrency as part of an investigation into money laundering.
The haul, which the Met Police claims is record-breaking in its size, was of an unspecified crypto. Details of how it was seized are yet to be released.
Metropolitan Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner Graham McNulty said: “While cash still remains king in the criminal world, as digital platforms develop we’re increasingly seeing organised criminals using cryptocurrency to launder their dirty money.”
We’ll have more on this story as it develops.
Anthony Cuthbertson13 July 2021 09:54
Rumours that Apple has bought bitcoin
Rumours are currently spreading online that Apple has made a massive investment in bitcoin.
Forums and social media are abuzz with claims that the tech giant will announce a $2 billion cryptocurrency purchase today, though at this point these are only rumours.
It would make sense for Apple to put it’s vast cash reserves into bitcoin, in the same way that Tesla did, but it would still be a risky move. With nearly $200bn in cash at the last quarterly report, $2bn would be just 1 per cent of the iPhone maker’s holdings. If true, you would imagine that bitcoin’s price would receive a similar bump to when Elon Musk announced Tesla’s crypto investment.
We have reached out to Apple for comment.
Anthony Cuthbertson13 July 2021 08:54
Crypto market turns red
All of the most valuable cryptocurrencies by market cap are currently on the slide.
Over the last 24 hours not a single one has seen any price gains, with Ethereum (ether) seeing the biggest losses, according to CoinMarketCap’s index.
On a week-on-week basis only Binance Coin has seen its price rise, while dogecoin experienced the largest dip of more than 10 per cent.
Despite the market downturn, bitcoin’s losses remain relatively insignificant compared to the volatility it experienced in the first half of 2021, and it continues to trade within the narrow band it has been in since late June.
Anthony Cuthbertson12 July 2021 20:05