Bitcoin wobbles below $46K as 1 BTC passes 800K Turkish lira for the first time

Published at: Dec. 20, 2021

Bitcoin (BTC) fell over 5% from local highs through Dec. 20 as macro tensions persisted into the new week.

Analyst: Brace for volatile end to 2021

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView tracked BTC/USD as it fell back below $46,000 overnight on Sunday, reaching lows of $45,787 on Bitstamp.

The pair had hit $48,300 before a reversal took hold as Asian stocks opened the week on a limp note thanks to Coronavirus.

"The U.S. stock markets will be having a pretty bad day when it comes to today. Also, the European stock markets will be opening with red numbers," Cointelegraph contributor Michaël van de Poppe warned in his latest YouTube update.

"We are actually making ourselves ready for some heavy volatility in the last few weeks of this year."

Like others, Van de Poppe highlighted strength in the U.S. dollar providing extra friction for risk assets such as Bitcoin. With the U.S. dollar currency index (DXY) facing resistance, Bitcoin is battling to maintain support in a classic inversely correlated move.

"What you want to see in a reversal structure is something like we have been seeing in September as well," he continued, referencing the $40,000 breakout at the end of that month.

Max pain for Turkish lira holders

With little to inspire Bitcoin traders overall, only events in Turkey provided some form of a silver lining for those who opted to diversify into BTC.

Related: Biggest GBTC discount ever — 5 things to watch in Bitcoin this week

Following a fresh commitment to lower interest rates from President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Turkey's national fiat currency, the lira (TRY), fell to new record lows of 17.8 against the dollar.

New week, new lows. #Turkey Lira plunges to another All-time low after Erdogan says Islam demands lower rates. Now down 57.4% YTD. pic.twitter.com/No6j5flgbf

— Holger Zschaepitz (@Schuldensuehner) December 20, 2021

Taking its year-to-date losses to near 60%, the latest slide brought the focus back to Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as a potential hedge against extreme economic policy.

BTC/TRY passed 800,000 in a record-breaking move overnight, having doubled in just two-and-a-half months.

To add insult to injury, the lira fell below parity with the embattled Egyptian pound (EGP) for the first time in history.

Erdogan has had a fraught relationship with cryptocurrency and has taken steps to banish the industry from Turkish consumers.

Tags
Related Posts
Bitcoin hits new all-time high in Turkey as fiat currency lira goes into freefall
Bitcoin (BTC) has frustrated investors with its recent price correction, but in one country, BTC hodlers have never been more relieved. Market data from TradingView on Nov. 23 confirmed that Bitcoin has hit new all-time highs against the Turkish lira. Bitcoin passes 700,000 lira Turkey is unofficially battling a currency crisis as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pushes to keep interest rates low. The result has been the de facto collapse of the lira's exchange rate, with USD/TRY gaining 14% on Tuesday alone to pass 13 for the first time. While Turks witness their purchasing power decline in real time, those …
Bitcoin / Nov. 23, 2021
Bitcoin hits $49K as BTC price gets unlikely boost from Erdogan's Turkish lira tinkering
Bitcoin (BTC) rebounded over 5% on Dec. 21 as a dramatic turnaround in the fortunes of the Turkish lira boosted investors' confidence. Wishing on a sentiment flip Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD bouncing overnight as the lira shot up as much as 40% against the U.S. dollar. The move came as Turkey's president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, announced sweeping measures to protect consumers and attract lira investors. USD/TRY had previously hit all-time highs of near 19, half of which had occurred in the last two months. In an ironic twist, Erdogan himself had come out against cryptocurrency …
Bitcoin / Dec. 21, 2021
Another $1 billion wipeout: Why is Bitcoin seeing extreme price moves?
Nearly $1 billion worth of Bitcoin (BTC) futures contracts were liquidated on Jan. 13, a day after the big shakeout. The continuous loop of liquidations is causing extreme volatility and large price swings in the cryptocurrency market. What are futures liquidations, and why are so many Bitcoin positions being liquidated? In the Bitcoin futures market, traders borrow additional capital to bet against or for Bitcoin. The technical term for this is leverage, and when traders use high leverage, the liquidation threshold gets tighter. For example, if a trader borrows 10 times the initial capital, a 10% price move to the …
Bitcoin / Jan. 13, 2021
Bitcoin sees record 100 days above $10K as one analyst eyes ‘parabolic’ 2021
Bitcoin (BTC) has officially beaten a new record as BTC/USD trades above $10,000 for 100 days, and major gains should come next. As voting in the United States’ presidential election ended on Nov. 3, Bitcoin saw a landmark moment of its own — 100 days straight trading in five figures. Bitcoin sees record stretch above $10,000 The achievement is not just impressive as a record for $10,000-plus prices. According to previous data, once Bitcoin trades above these significant price levels for 100 days, BTC/USD swiftly increases by an order of magnitude. As Cointelegraph reported last week, the length of time …
Adoption / Nov. 4, 2020
Bitcoin Price Stays Static at $8,800 as NEO, BNB Steal the Limelight
Bitcoin price (BTC) continued its daily trading pattern on Nov. 13, hovering just under $8,800 after losing support at $9,000. Cryptocurrency market daily overview. Source: Coin360 Bitcoin tracks sideways below $9K Data from Coin360 showed another lackluster day for BTC/USD, with little progress over the past 12 or 24 hours. The week had begun with Bitcoin losing its foothold higher up, exiting a trading corridor between $9,000 and $9,500 and so far failing to reclaim it. Bitcoin seven-day price chart. Source: Coin360 As Cointelegraph reported, analysts had remained broadly bullish on longer-term market prospects. Now, however, the short term could …
Bitcoin / Nov. 13, 2019