Bitcoin Price Continues to Rise, Litecoin Outperforms in 2022
By Bitcoin (BTC) was recently trading just above $23,500, down 1.8% over the past 24 hours but still well above last week's support near $23,000.[0] Cryptocurrency's biggest entity has seen a boost of 40% in 2021 as investors become more hopeful concerning inflation and economic recovery.[0] The Federal Reserve's 25 basis point (bps) increase bolstered markets' sense that bankers were succeeding in their quest to staunch stubbornly high prices.[0]
Data released by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics showed the labor market added 517,000 jobs in the first month of 2023. The statistic showed an increase that was higher than the 188,000 that economists had predicted.[1] The US economy managed to add an astonishing 517,000 new jobs last month, which is more than double what was predicted by analysts. In the US, 517,000 jobs were added, higher than the estimated 188,000. This resulted in a 53-year low unemployment rate of 3.4%.
As of now, Bitcoin is trading at a value above $23,000 on major spot exchanges.[1] The rise of Bitcoin comes as the US economy is showing signs of recovery fueled by the Fed's accommodative policy and the continuation of fiscal stimulus.
On CoinDesk TV's “First Mover” show, Jason Pagoulatos, Markets Associate at Delphi Digital Research Group, expressed his opinion that the most recent GDP data would not have a significant effect on cryptocurrency markets.[2] According to Pagoulatos, investors are paying close attention to the Federal Reserve's upcoming interest rate decision, but more so for the accompanying remarks than the actual size of the rate change (whether by 25 or 50 basis points).[2]
In the midst of the destruction of 2022, where the prices of the latest layer-1 protocols and the total value locked (TVL) were drastically reduced, Litecoin was forgotten.[2] Markets data shows that it outperformed both Bitcoin and Ether throughout the year.[3] Litecoin (LTC) is the first altcoin that was created in 2011 as a fork of the Bitcoin blockchain. It has been a part of the cryptocurrency network since then. Litecoin has stayed on the sidelines while the market became infatuated with Ethereum and layer-1 blockchains including Solana, Avalanche, Polkadot and whatever else is surging at the moment.
From August 2020 to May 2022, the assets in wallets containing fewer than 1,000 and fewer 10,000 LTC decreased, according to the supply distribution.[2]
0. “First Mover Asia: Bitcoin dips into red but holds strong above $23.5k” FXStreet, 3 Feb. 2023, https://www.fxstreet.com/cryptocurrencies/news/first-mover-asia-bitcoin-dips-into-red-but-holds-strong-above-235k-202302030348
1. “Bitcoin sees $23.3K amid market reaction to US jobs report” CoinJournal, 3 Feb. 2023, https://coinjournal.net/news/bitcoin-slips-amid-market-reaction-to-us-jobs-report
2. “First Mover Asia: Cryptos Shrug Off Latest US Productivity, Jobs Data; Bitcoin Hovers at $22.9K” Yahoo! Voices, 26 Jan. 2023, https://www.yahoo.com/now/first-mover-asia-cryptos-shrug-014346926.html
3. “First mover Asia: Cryptos shrug off latest US productivity, jobs data, Bitcoin hovers at $22.9K” FXStreet, 27 Jan. 2023, https://www.fxstreet.com/cryptocurrencies/news/first-mover-asia-cryptos-shrug-off-latest-us-productivity-jobs-data-bitcoin-hovers-at-229k-202301270758
