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Market Wrap: Bitcoin Pushes $60K as Goldman, BlackRock Moves Signal Adoption

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Bradley Keoun and Damanick Dantes
·2 min read
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  • Bitcoin (BTC) trading around $58,682 as of 20:05 UTC (4:05 p.m. ET). Climbing 0.4% over the previous 24 hours.

  • Bitcoin’s 24-hour range: $56,934-$59,835 (CoinDesk 20)

Bitcoin was flat to slightly lower Wednesday though closed out its best start to the year since 2013 on signs of growing adoption of cryptocurrencies by the likes of Wall Street firms Goldman Sachs and BlackRock.

“The great portfolio rebalancing is already underway,” Matt Blom, head of sales and trading with the digital-asset firm Equos, wrote in an email.

Some analysts forecast that prices could jump to $70,000 bitcoin forecast based on a “bull flag” pattern seen in price charts, but rival analysts critiqued the model, saying the flag had no pole.

Related: NFT Marketplace OpenSea to Add Ethereum Layer 2 Protocol for Gas-Free Trading

The largest cryptocurrency’s price over the past week has been pushing back up toward $60,000, and a breach of that crucial psychological level could trigger to a rally to a new all-time high, analysts said. The record price now sits at $61,557, reached earlier this month.

Prices have doubled so far in 2021, bitcoin’s best first-quarter performance in eight years.

In absolute dollar terms, bitcoin’s price jumped about $30,000 during the three-month period, well exceeding the cryptocurrency’s next-best quarter, a gain of about $22,000, during the fourth quarter of 2020. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index of large stocks, for comparison, is up about 5.7%. (Stocks rose Wednesday, with President Joe Biden set to unveil his next stimulus plan to follow the recent $1.9 trillion deal.)

Crypto lending firms including CoinDesk sister company Genesis and BlockFi are cutting the interest rates they pay on large-scale bitcoin deposits, potentially signaling an end to the glorified 4% to 6% levels that have served as a staple of the lucrative market.

Ether rises with bitcoin

  • Ether (ETH) trading around $1,904. Climbing 3.6% over the previous 24 hours.

  • Ether’s 24-hour range: $1,773-$1,917 (CoinDesk 20)

Related: YouTube Star Jake Paul Reportedly “Discussed” Creating His Own Crypto: Good or Bad Idea?

Ether rose, after holding support around $1,800. The cryptocurrency is up about 30% for the month, versus a 25% gain in BTC. 

The decentralized finance (DeFi) space continued to grab headlines this week after Aave announced Wednesday that it will work with Ethereum layer 2 Polygon to bypass congestion on the blockchain network. 

Enterprise software company R3’s Corda network now has a bridge to public blockchains. The group of RBS bankers, now known as LAB577, will use its native token, the Ethereum-compatible XDC, as a settlement coin inside Corda. 

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You need to accept change like this that is radical.”The 5 trillion riyals from private firms is part of a 27 trillion-riyal investment strategy Prince Mohammed outlined for the next 10 years. Central government spending will account for around 10 trillion riyals, while the sovereign wealth fund previously announced that it plans to invest 3 trillion riyals on top of that.Read more: Saudi Jobs for Saudis Is Crown Prince’s Generational ChallengeAnother 4 trillion riyals will come from private investments, while the final 5 trillion riyals will come from ordinary consumer spending.Diversify the EconomyThe announcement underlined the extent to which the prince’s focus is turning domestic as he tries to diversify the economy of the world’s largest oil exporter and create enough jobs for the kingdom’s youthful population. 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