Bitcoin Generates 15.70% in Weekly Returns as Speculation Mounts Around Elon Musk’s Entry Into the Industry

The prominent American business magnate tweeted that “in retrospect, it was inevitable” after changing his Twitter bio to include the word “Bitcoin,” which made speculators go crazy. As a result, the flagship cryptocurrency rose to a high of $38,650 a few hours later, and by the end of Friday’s trading session, it had lost all the gains incurred.

While BTC remained dormant over the weekend, it opened on Monday, February 1st, trading at $33,170, according to CEX.IO’s exchange rate. As speculation continued to mount around Musk’s entry into the cryptocurrency space, prices went into a steady uptrend.

By Thursday, February 4th, at 8:00 UTC, the pioneer cryptocurrency had risen by nearly 17% to hit a high of $38,800.

Given the proximity to the end of the weekly trading session, it seems like some investors took advantage of the rising price action to book profits. The increase in downward pressure pushed Bitcoin’s market value down by 1.14% to close Friday, February 5th, at a low of $38,270.

Investors were able to grasp a weekly return of 15.70% due to the high speculation levels around it.

Ethereum Closes the Week With Over 30% Gains

Like Bitcoin, Ethereum’s price action seems to have been controlled by high expectations around CME’s Ether futures launch. As the world’s largest financial derivatives exchange planned to list the new investment vehicle on Monday, February 8th, market participants bought in anticipation of the event.

Even Grayscale reopened its Ethereum Trust to accredited investors and closed a deal to buy more than $76 million worth of ETH.

The significant spike in buying pressure appears to have had an important impact on Ethereum’s price. The second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization opened on Monday, February 1st, at a low of $1,315 and quickly began trending upwards, according to the exchange rate from CEX.IO.

In a parabolic-like move, Ethereum rose by nearly 36% to hit a new all-time high of $1,760 on Friday, February 5th, a few hours before the weekly trading session’s close. As investors began to take some profits off the table in preparation for the weekend, Ether saw its price drop by 2.60% to close at $1,725.

Given the impressive price action that Ethereum enjoyed throughout the week, it yielded a weekly return of 31%.

The Cryptocurrency Market Moves Forward

Elon Musk’s interest in Bitcoin could be the catalyst of a new bull run towards $50,000 or higher. By adding BTC to one of his company’s balance sheets, Musk will be forcing other lower cap companies to reconsider their cash reserves. The move could trigger a ripple effect across the global financial markets, putting the bellwether cryptocurrency into the spotlight as the only decentralized and censorship-resistance store of value asset.

The high levels of correlation in the cryptocurrency market suggest that if Bitcoin heads north, Ethereum will likely follow it. Even though the launch of CME’s Ether future may serve as a “sell the news” event, the downside could be capped by the significant number of investors who purchased ETH at $1,600. For this reason, even if Ethereum retraces, its uptrend will remain intact, targeting $2,000 next.

Konstantin Anissimov, Executive Director at CEX.IO