No… Bitcoin’s Price Did Not Set an All-Time High. Here’s Why
Several
crypto news sites (and mainstream media outlets) excitedly declared that
Bitcoin set a new all-time high on Monday… but did it? It might be a
little too early to crack open the champagne — for several reasons. There’s
disagreement over the record price that BTC managed to hit in
December 2017. While CoinDesk’s Bitcoin Price Index puts this figure at
$19,783, CoinMarketCap data tells a different story… and suggests the
world’s biggest cryptocurrency actually reached $20,089. All of this is relevant
when we take a look at Nov. 30’s price activity. According to CoinDesk, BTC has
managed a 24-hour high of $19,920.53. That means, as far as it’s concerned,
there is a new price record. However, if we’re going by our historical
data, Bitcoin was still about $170 off the mark. So… why does CMC believe
that BTC’s record high in 2017 was higher? Well, it’s because our
methodology for making calculations involves a volume-weighted average of market
pair prices. Focusing on markets with higher volumes stops the stats from
getting skewed. In a nutshell then, no: Bitcoin has not set a new price
record. However, there’s three things we’ve now learned: 1.
Bitcoin came pretty close to an all-time high 2. At least it managed to
set a new record for the highest-ever monthly close 3. BTC’s price has fallen
sharply since then anyway What’s happened?! As our chart shows, there was a lot
of drama on Tuesday morning as Bitcoin neared its record price — like
Harry Potter stretching out in vain as he tries to grab the Golden Snitch. But
over the course of two hours, BTC fell by about 7% against the U.S. dollar —
losing $1,000 in just 10 minutes. Such a swift and brutal rejection at $20,000
suggests that bulls have their work cut out if they want to enter a new price
discovery phase. Reaction to the rollercoaster ride on Crypto Twitter has
been… well… mixed. After the slump, @CryptoBull wrote: “Worth noting that a
$1,000 swing is just 5% now. Adjust accordingly.” Meanwhile, crypto skeptic
Peter Schiff tweeted: “Bitcoin pumpers assured HODLers that once
#Bitcoin made a new high, momentum investors would rush in to buy. That
was part of the pump to keep the little guys on board while the big guys dumped.
Bitcoin made a new high, but instead of new money rushing in, old money
cashed out.” (Again… our data suggests Bitcoin did not hit an all-time high.)
Let’s debunk some other misconceptions… Over on CoinMarketCap Alexandria, we’ve
got plenty of in-depth articles that can help you make sense of the crypto
markets… even during times of incredible volatility. In this article, we break
down five common misconceptions about Bitcoin — it’s an entertaining read, and
it’ll certainly be enlightening if you’re new to the space. Subscribe to our
newsletter! We’ve got this story and plenty more in today’s newsletter —
including the launch of Ethereum 2.0’s beacon chain, and ANOTHER rebrand for
Libra. Subscribe here!
Several
crypto news sites (and mainstream media outlets) excitedly declared that
Bitcoin set a new all-time high on Monday… but did it? It might be a
little too early to crack open the champagne — for several reasons. There’s
disagreement over the record price that BTC managed to hit in
December 2017. While CoinDesk’s Bitcoin Price Index puts this figure at
$19,783, CoinMarketCap data tells a different story… and suggests the
world’s biggest cryptocurrency actually reached $20,089. All of this is relevant
when we take a look at Nov. 30’s price activity. According to CoinDesk, BTC has
managed a 24-hour high of $19,920.53. That means, as far as it’s concerned,
there is a new price record. However, if we’re going by our historical
data, Bitcoin was still about $170 off the mark. So… why does CMC believe
that BTC’s record high in 2017 was higher? Well, it’s because our
methodology for making calculations involves a volume-weighted average of market
pair prices. Focusing on markets with higher volumes stops the stats from
getting skewed. In a nutshell then, no: Bitcoin has not set a new price
record. However, there’s three things we’ve now learned: 1.
Bitcoin came pretty close to an all-time high 2. At least it managed to
set a new record for the highest-ever monthly close 3. BTC’s price has fallen
sharply since then anyway What’s happened?! As our chart shows, there was a lot
of drama on Tuesday morning as Bitcoin neared its record price — like
Harry Potter stretching out in vain as he tries to grab the Golden Snitch. But
over the course of two hours, BTC fell by about 7% against the U.S. dollar —
losing $1,000 in just 10 minutes. Such a swift and brutal rejection at $20,000
suggests that bulls have their work cut out if they want to enter a new price
discovery phase. Reaction to the rollercoaster ride on Crypto Twitter has
been… well… mixed. After the slump, @CryptoBull wrote: “Worth noting that a
$1,000 swing is just 5% now. Adjust accordingly.” Meanwhile, crypto skeptic
Peter Schiff tweeted: “Bitcoin pumpers assured HODLers that once
#Bitcoin made a new high, momentum investors would rush in to buy. That
was part of the pump to keep the little guys on board while the big guys dumped.
Bitcoin made a new high, but instead of new money rushing in, old money
cashed out.” (Again… our data suggests Bitcoin did not hit an all-time high.)
Let’s debunk some other misconceptions… Over on CoinMarketCap Alexandria, we’ve
got plenty of in-depth articles that can help you make sense of the crypto
markets… even during times of incredible volatility. In this article, we break
down five common misconceptions about Bitcoin — it’s an entertaining read, and
it’ll certainly be enlightening if you’re new to the space. Subscribe to our
newsletter! We’ve got this story and plenty more in today’s newsletter —
including the launch of Ethereum 2.0’s beacon chain, and ANOTHER rebrand for
Libra. Subscribe here!
