Crypto markets and Bitcoin: Strong volatility ruled 2021

Bitcoin finishes up a blockbuster year 2021 with $46,406 approx. The largest cryptocurrency by market value closed out December with a 19% drop, its largest monthly loss since May. That’s also its worst December since 2013. And its 59% advance in 2021 marks its smallest gain for an up year since 2015, when it advanced 36%. The coin on Friday fell as much as 3.5% to trade at $45,658.

Bitcoin had a blockbuster year, though, is now settled debate after Bitcoin and the wider crypto world spent 2021 pushing further into the mainstream and capturing more attention from financial institutions and public at large. Those keeping an eye on Bitcoin’s daily fluctuations say all of it is par for the course — the crypto coin is famous for its volatility and this year proved just as rocky as any other.

We’re seeing a little more volatility. It’s a speculative asset.

Chris Gaffney, president of world markets at TIAA Bank

Bitcoin had a breakout year but a weak finish. Additionally, it’s also losing dominance to other lesser-known upstarts that have gained in popularity as the crypto ecosystem expanded this year. Among the biggest cryptocurrencies, Binance Coin posted the best return, adding roughly 1,300% in 2021. NFTs exploded, Coinbase stock went public, El Salvador bought the dip and China cracked down on bitcoin miners, while Solana’s SOL tokens and Polygon’s MATIC shot up by multiples of 90 or more.

It was another characteristically unpredictable year in cryptocurrency markets. Dogecoin emerged as a star as well during all this volatility chaos. After a series of posts by Tesla CEO Elon Musk and then-Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey helped to push bitcoin higher from $40,000 in January to nearly $57,000 in February. The viral effects of social media pushed retail traders into full-on buy mode, with bones thrown to the doggy-themed joke token dogecoin (DOGE) that added billions of dollars to that cryptocurrency’s market value.

Despite all this chaos, we expect Bitcoin to continue to perform well. Investors are increasingly understanding the unique value-add of Bitcoin. As long as it continues humming, we believe the price will follow.

Original link: Your go to Crypto place