Summary
- The Bitcoin price continues to rise and is indicating signs of reaching a new high.
- Institutional adoption and the US stimulus to influence the price upsurge.
Bitcoin continued its renewed attempt to go past the historic highs, coming within touching distance at $58,150 before sliding back to $56,905 at the time of going to press. BTC price firmly established itself above $50,000 this week, going on to reach the $1 trillion market capitalization for the second time.
As a result of the BTC price upswing, its market capitalization is now nearly $1.1 Trillion. The market has been receptive to BTC this week, with increasing institutional adoption and rising interest from individual investors. These will combine to drive prices higher in the coming days.
Institutional Adoption and the US Stimulus
Bitcoin’s standing as an investment asset has been on the rise. More institutions are under pressure to include BTC in their balance sheets, especially since the turn of the year. In the latest trend, high-net-worth individuals are joining the fray.
In Israel, influential asset manager Altshuler Shaham, recently upped its stake by two-fold within two months. That brings the firm’s investment in Bitcoin to $200 million, following an investment of nearly $100 million late last year through Grayscale Bitcoin Trust.
Elsewhere, renowned Bitcoin critic Peter Schiff’s son stirred a heated conversation when he went against his father’s stand. The popular investor tweeted his dissatisfaction with his son’s action two days ago, stating that it was a misguided move. But it was the revelation that the son had sold all his silver assets to finance the BTC investment that showed a radical paradigm shift on crypto-investments.
Yesterday’s signing of the $1.9 trillion stimulus by President Joe Biden is likely to benefit Bitcoin in the coming weeks. First, it will devalue the US dollar and secondly, the widespread acceptance of BTC for retail and institutional payments will likely see a significant percentage of the $1,400 checks going into buying BTC.
Elsewhere, the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) has announced that it recently issued the 29th BitLicense. The license was given to a crypto company called Bakkt and authorized to provide its New-York clients with cryptocurrency buying and selling services.
In a double swoop for BTC, American Residential Warranty (ARW) has expanded its investments to include BTC. In making the announcement this week, the company stated that the move was meant to diversify its investments and enhance its cash inflows. In addition, the company has also added BTC among its payment options.
In another instance of BTC adoption for payments, the Kessler Collection announced this week that it is working with BitPay and will accept BTC as payment henceforth. The luxury hotels group has joined a growing list of institutions giving BTC a path to the mainstream financial system.
Goldman Sachs’ has recently disclosed that the bank is working on ways of meeting the surge in demand for Bitcoin by its clients. In an announcement by the investment giant’s CEO John Waldron, the bank also referred to the current restrictive guidelines on cryptocurrencies. This underpins the potential for exponential growth in BTC price upon easing of regulatory restrictions.
Alternative exposure
Bitcoin has also been making moves in the Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) to give investors alternative exposure to Bitcoin without having to buy the asset. This week, WisdomTree, submitted its paperwork, seeking authorization from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to list a Bitcoin ETF on CBOE.
BTC/USD technical outlook
BTC price has continued to rise and has also tested the $58,000 resistance level. The price has since corrected downwards and is trading below the resistance level at the time of writing.
The BTC/USD pair will find the first support at $54,188 and the second support at $55,956. A break past the $58,000 resistance level will signal a potential rise to the second resistance level at $58,441. A break beyond this point will signal a strong bullish charge which will drive the price past $60,000.
