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A Look at the Recent Price Movements in the Crypto Market
The crypto market had a rocky time this week that saw most top crypto assets shed significant gains. For instance, BTC briefly plunged to a low of $28,600 on Tuesday, erasing almost all the gains it has accumulated this year. However, at its current price of $31,200, bitcoin is still up approximately 14% from this year’s low of $27,730.
Ethereum is facing strong resistance near $1,850 and has struggled all week to clear that level. On Friday, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency dipped over 7% to change hands for $1,843, parrying gains of $146 from its Thursday close.
Read on to learn what has been moving the crypto markets over the past few days. We shall also examine whether the crypto market bull cycle has already come to an unexpected end.
Is the Current BTC Pullback a Mid-Cycle Correction?
BTC attempted to mount a comeback on Wednesday when prices jumped over 18%, reclaiming the $34K level. However, the bulls could not sustain the uptrend, leading to a slump back to the $31,000 zone.
The bearish sentiment in the bitcoin market is attributable to a slew of bearish events, which started with China’s recent crackdown on crypto that has since decimated mining operations. As a result, the BTC network hash rate is currently at its lowest level in twelve months. Then on Monday, China’s central bank directed major financial institutions to halt providing services related to digital assets.
Despite the ongoing sell-off, one analyst is convinced that the BTC is nowhere near its top. Bitcoin researcher Dor Shaher tweeted out a chart showing how correction periods have played out in the past three bitcoin market cycles. He noted that there is consistency in the pattern BTC cycles have appeared over the past decade.
There seems to be a prolonged correction period around the middle of each cycle. The analysis hints that the flagship cryptocurrency could be in its mid-cycle correction, which would mean the current downwards trajectory will last a few more weeks before BTC rebounds.
The recent BTC price pullback touched the Parabolic SAR, a technical analysis tool used by analysts to predict when a trend has stopped and reversed. Historically, BTC has lost 72% or more each time the sell-off touched this indicator.
Now that the Parabolic SAR tool has been triggered, BTC could be at risk of slipping further towards $20K before the uptrend can resume.
Elon Musk Pumps Shiba Inu Coin
Tesla CEO Elon Musk took to Twitter on June 25, this time pumping Shiba Inu, a dog-themed meme coin created as a nod to DOGE. The die-hard fan of Dogecoin wrote that he would be getting a Shiba Inu dog breed, sparking a massive price pump for the coin, which soared over 22% in a couple of hours.
This is the second time Musk has mentioned Shiba Inu. Back in March 2021, the billionaire tweeted: “I’m getting a Shiba Inu. #resistanceisfutile.” The crypto community, which often hangs on Musk’s every word, interpreted the tweet as a signal to buy Shiba Inu, causing the coin to pump.
JPMorgan Analysts Warn of An Imminent BTC Price Plunge
Over the past few weeks, top crypto assets such as DOGE, BNB, XRP, and ETH have been tracking bitcoin’s sharp downtrend. The resultant market sell-off wiped out hundreds of billions from the collective $2 trillion crypto market cap.
And now, JP Morgan analysts are warning that the market slump isn’t over just yet. They gave a negative outlook of bitcoin in the mid-term, noting:
“It would still take price declines to the $25,000 level before longer-term momentum would signal capitulation.”
That said, analysts from the Wall Street banking giant, who correctly predicted the ongoing market sell-off, still believe that BTC is on course to hit a theoretical target price of $140K.