October Review: Where’s Bitcoin headed?

The month of October has been a good one for large-cap cryptocurrencies; Bitcoin turning out to be the biggest gainer with about 28.6% at the time of writing. Ethereum on the other hand has gained an average of 9%, Litecoin 21%, and Bitcoin Cash 16.2% in the last 30 days.

A major Bitcoin move as currently experienced is often positively welcomed by the crypto community as it has been long anticipated. However, the move is yet to rub off on altcoins as they have continuously bled through major supports.

Bitcoin has already delivered a spectacular year-to-date (YTD) performance, completely shaking off the Covid-19 drawdown earlier in March to gain over 90% returns. With just two months left in 2020, it is already obvious that Bitcoin will close the year with a stellar performance.

Bullish cases for Bitcoin

Lately, there have been some solid fundamentals backing bitcoin’s price surge. Bitcoin is finally on its path to mainstream adoption. While covid-19 temporarily brought panic to the world economies, it has undoubtedly advanced the adoption rate of Bitcoin across the globe. Over the last few months, some notable events have occurred in favor of the novel cryptocurrency.

OCC allows regulated banks to keep crypto custody

On July 22, 2020, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) published a letter authorizing national banks and federal savings associations regulated by the agency to provide custody of digital assets for their clients.

Microstrategy and Square purchase BTC

Another massive move came from MicroStrategy, who for the first time used the cash on its corporate reserves to purchase Bitcoin worth $250 million on August 11. Subsequently, this move was followed by another substantial addition of 16,796 BTC worth $175 million on the 14th of September, totaling an investment of $425 million in BTC. Reports have it that Microstrategy is already up above $100 million in profit on their Bitcoin purchase, more than they have made in the past three years from their business operations.

Three weeks later – precisely on October 8, payment company Square announced that it has made a purchase of 4709 bitcoins worth approximately $50 million at the time of purchase.

It is becoming almost glaring that more publicly-traded companies will follow suit by allocating a certain percentage of their cash reserves in Bitcoin, ultimately leading to much higher prices in 2021.

Paypal goes Crypto

The most recent fundamental is of Paypal’s entry into the scene. On October 21, the giant payment processor announced that its customers will be able to buy, sell and hold digital assets with the company’s online wallets, starting from early 2021. While Paypal may not allow users to keep custody of their assets, the news is still a massive endorsement for Bitcoin, giving Paypal’s 346 million global users.

Beyond the Fundamentals…

Aside from the solid fundamentals, Bitcoin has never looked stronger than it is right now from a technical perspective in recent years. Earlier today, Bitcoin crossed the $14,000 mark which was swiftly followed by a reversal to $13,572, no thanks to the sell orders at that highly anticipated region. As of the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at a price of 13,860, indicating strong buying pressure from the bulls. It is worthy to mention that it has been at least 1015 days since Bitcoin crossed the $14,000, making it a key resistance area.

All these factors seem to coincide with the four-year market cycle, pointing to a fresh bullish run as the novel cryptocurrency heads into its 13th year in 2021.