Bitcoin prices jumped higher over the weekend, lifting the world’s leading cryptocurrency above $4,000 for the first time since Dec. 25.
After trading to a two-week high near $4,100 on Sunday, the bellwether digital currency has recorded some gains on Monday.
“With BTC yet to show any real grip above the $4,000 level, there is still much market comment that the bear market is still apparent and yet to show signs of complete exhaustion and turnaround,” wrote David Thomas, director and co-founder of U.K. cryptocurrency broker GlobalBlock.
“The last month has seen the overall BTC price recover by over 20%, and whilst the bears are less vehement that an imminent ‘zero’ is coming, few are willing to make a call on the short-term direction for bitcoin.”
Mati Greenspan, senior market analyst at brokerage firm eToro, said: “A surge of 6.5 percent in 30 minutes is not entirely uncommon for bitcoin and could very well be caused by a single large order on an exchange or even by a lack of liquidity in the market.
“What’s interesting about this move is that it did bring us above the $4,000 level and so far is holding onto the gains.”
Mark Lamb, CoinFlex CEO and co-founder of CoinFloor, said his company will offer futures contracts for bitcoin, bitcoin cash and ethereum that can be leveraged up to 20 times.
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“Crypto derivatives could become an order of magnitude larger than spot markets and the main thing that’s holding back that growth is the lack of physical delivery,” Lamb said.
“Volumes are reduced because of a problem of trust when it comes to cash-settled trades.”
As Bloomberg explains, one technical measure that traders follow indicates more gains may be in store. The Directional Movement Index crossed into positive territory for the first time since mid-November, ending Bitcoin’s “very strong” selling streak, as indicated by an Average Direction Index over 50. It should now be entering a new positive buying phase. This could be the start of the next run-up, as positive trends normally are followed by rising prices, technical analysis suggests.
Other tokens registered mixed gains, with Litecoin jumping as much as 22 percent and Ether down about 1 percent.
