Bitcoin dips from 15-month high after 10% weekend jump
LONDON : Bitcoin pulled back from 15-month highs yesterday after jumping more than 10 per cent over the weekend, with analysts ascribing the spike to growing optimism over cryptocurrencies after Facebook unveiled its Libra digital coin.
The biggest cryptocurrency touched US$11,247.63 (S$15,232.38) on the Bitstamp exchange on Sunday, its highest since March last year.
Yesterday it had pulled back from those highs, and was last down 0.5 per cent at US$10,786.
Mr Mati Greenspan, an analyst at eToro, said the gains underscored optimism among retail investors over moves by major companies to adopt cryptocurrencies.
"Traders are speculating on future involvement of large players like Facebook," he told Reuters.
Facebook announced ambitious plans last week to launch a new global cryptocurrency called Libra.
The advent of Libra "is validating the crypto space and sending all the major digital coins higher," Mr Edward Moya, chief market strategist at Oanda in New York told Bloomberg.
"Bitcoin volatility is likely to persist, with US$12,000 and US$15,000 as the next two critical resistance levels."
But some observers said the speed of the rally warrants caution.
Mr Whitney Tilson, founder of Empire Financial Research and a former hedge-fund manager said: "Mark my words: A year from now, it will be a lot lower. This is a techno-libertarian pump-and-dump scheme that will end in ruin."- REUTERS
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