The year 2022 was a challenging one for the world of crypto assets. The crypto market saw a significant decline, with more than $1.3 trillion being wiped off the total value of all digital assets. Bitcoin experienced a drastic decline of over 60% in its value. This was a staggering loss for investors and traders alike, and it caused many to question the long-term prospects of crypto in general.
The volatility in crypto prices was also heightened at the end of the year following the collapse of FTX, one of the largest and fastest-growing crypto exchanges. The collapse of the exchange caused a major disruption in the market and many traders and investors were caught off guard. This further added to the uncertainty and volatility in crypto prices.
However, Bitcoin, the largest crypto by market capitalization, has experienced a rise in value over this weekend, reaching above $23,000 for the first time since August before dropping slightly.
<source: binance, tradingview>
Despite being relatively flat over the past 24 hours, it has risen 8% in the past week and 37% this year. Despite some negative developments in the industry, such as the bankruptcy filing of Genesis Global Holdco LLC, investors have remained bullish on Bitcoin.
Joe DiPasquale, CEO of a crypto fund manager, suggests that this increase in value is typical for the first quarter and that the market is currently in a period of consolidation.
DiPasquale has said that the recent increase in market value for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies is partially due to a short squeeze. He also warned that the market is overheated and due for a correction and that it is possible to see Bitcoin's value drop to around $20,000 in the near future. He advises market participants to be aware of potential downside risks and consider taking profits.
<source: binance, tradingview>
Ether, the second largest crypto by market capitalization, has followed a similar trend to Bitcoin over the weekend, with a small increase of 1% from Saturday. It has risen 4.5% in the past week and 35% since the end of December.
Other major crypto assets have also seen small increases, with AXS and YGG, the tokens of the Axie Infinity Gaming platform and Yield Guild Games, respectively, seeing even larger increases of 38% and 18%.
The weekend increase in the value of cryptocurrencies followed a positive Friday for stock market indexes, with the Nasdaq and S&P 500, both of which have a strong technology focus, rising by 2.6% and 1.8%, respectively.
Traditional financial markets are optimistic that inflation is decreasing without causing a severe recession and hopeful that the U.S. central bank will decrease its interest rate hikes to 25 basis points from the recent increases of 75 and 50 basis points.
Despite the warning about potential downside risks and the need for investors to be mindful and possibly seek to take profits, the Bitcoin community has a more optimistic outlook for the crypto market's risk appetite. The community seems to believe that this uptrend is a good sign for a future recovery.
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Disclaimer: This article was authored by Giottus Crypto Exchange as a part of a paid partnership with The News Minute. Crypto-asset or cryptocurrency investments are subject to market risks such as volatility and have no guaranteed returns. Please do your own research before investing and seek independent legal/financial advice if you are unsure about the investments.