Bitcoin ‘super cycle’ stalls, but hash rate is full of promise
Bitcoin’s supposed ‘super cycle’ failed to engage over the weekend as the flagship cryptocurrency ran out of steam to hold above $50,000 with any great conviction.
Many analysts claimed BTC could move into a sustained period of forceful upward movement on the strength of recent bullish sentiment if the price can maintain some distance north of the substantial psychological barrier of $50k.
Traders pointed to $51,000 as the marker to signal potential for the cycle, but the figure came and went in the blink of an eye rather than hold firm as the stepping stone to bigger numbers.
Bitcoin briefly clipped $51,064 on Friday afternoon, but the traditionally-slow weekend trading and low volume swiftly drew it back below $50k before anyone even had the chance to notice $51,000 had been breached.
The tug of war between bull and bear has since seen the price repeatedly pulled above and below $50,000 as short trades are made with little sign of a desire to buy higher throughout the weekend.
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However, this near-magnetic attraction to the fifty thousand line could also point towards gathering momentum in anticipation of increased volume in the week driving the price towards the fabled super cycle territory.
Key to this prospect is the hash rate – a measurement of the processing power of Bitcoin’s global network – which has slowly been returning to levels last seen when cryptocurrencies went on an unprecedented bull run earlier this year.
On April 14, when BTC peaked with an all-time high of $64,899, the hash rate was also at its highest level. Things went south on that front when China embarked on a crusade to ban crypto mining – a process which, perhaps coincidentally, saw Bitcoin and its stablemates tumble. The original cryptocurrency fell below $30,000 at one point in July while Chinese miners scrambled to relocate their operations.
Currently, that hash rate is now approaching the bottom end of April’s levels as it continues its ascending trajectory away from July’s low point. It’s now holding a rate similar to where it sat at the end of 2020 when Bitcoin made its startling move above $20,000 to record a series of all-time highs into the first quarter of 2021.
While the almost mythical super cycle may be on hold for now, those analysts keen to see it become a reality will be keeping a close eye on the hash rate and its potential correlation with price.
Of course, as the very volatile nature of cryptocurrency dictates, for every expert pointing a laser pen at the hash rate and price rises, there will be an equal number who can pull out a dossier on the number of times the hash rate has been rising when the price has been falling.
The swings and roundabouts of tracking Bitcoin are, as ever, fraught with the pitfalls of analytics. But these whispers on the air that echo with the sound of a super cycle may yet turn into loud voices if the week ahead lays down parallel tracks of a sustained hold above $51,000 and a continued uplift in the hash rate.