Bitcoin, the flagship cryptocurrency, has so far this year been outperforming the market’s benchmark index, the S&P 500, as well as commodities like gold and oil so far this year. This, as some believe last year’s bear market is now behind us.
According to Yahoo! Finance data, Bitcoin is up by over 45% so far this year, while the S&P 500 saw its value rise by nearly 17%. The Nasdaq, an index that tracks the stock prices of giants like Amazon, Facebook, and Google, is up 21.3%.
Included in the chart is Invesco’s DB Commodity Index Tracking Fund (DBC), which is comprised of various commodities, including gold, corn, soybeans, sugar, and gasoline. So far this year it has seen its value rise by 10.7%.
Bitcoin’s performance this year has likely been aided by what some believe was the bottom of 2018’s bear market, seen in December when the cryptocurrency hit $3,200, after falling from a near $20,000 all-time high in late 2017.
Since it hit its $3,200 low, the flagship cryptocurrency has been steadily rising and has even recently recovered from a dip caused by news of crypto exchange Bitfinex being accused of an $850 million ‘cover-up’ by New York’s Attorney General.
Recently, Bitfinex shareholders revealed they aren’t concerned with the allegations surrounding the cryptocurrency exchange and Tether – a company it shares management with – as both firms have survived a security breach in 2016, and banking difficulties in 2017.
The cryptocurrency market’s recovery is also likely linked to positive sentiments. A prominent analyst has recently revealed most crypto influencers are confident bitcoin bottomed out, while legendary Kiss rocker Gene Simmons recently noted he believes bitcoin isn’t dead.
I surveyed notable influencers, analysts and traders for their probability that the bottom is in for this bear market. Here are the results:
95% @woonomic (Adaptive Capital / On-chain Analyst)
90% @jespow (Kraken founder)
90% @arjunblj (Analyst)
85% @novogratz (Galaxy Digital)— Willy Woo (@woonomic) April 22, 2019
Adoption is notably also on the rise. A new browser extension called ‘Moon’ lets users use the cryptocurrency’s second-layer scaling solution to shop on Amazon and other e-commerce websites using BTC. Similarly, the Lightning Network’s adoption has kept on growing, with Lightning Labs’ wallet desktop app now working on BTC’s mainnet.
The E*Trade Financial Group, a massive online trading platform, is reportedly looking to add cryptocurrency trading to its platform with over 5 million users. The firm, according to Bloomberg, is set to add BTC and ETH first.
