Bitcoin prices fluctuated little in the week ending 13th May, staying largely between $450 and $460 amid lackluster trading volume. While Craig Wright’s claims of being bitcoin’s founder likely helped generate visibility for the digital currency and was still the subject of some headlines this week, this event has begun to fade from the public eye.
In the aftermath of Wright’s re-emergence after months of silence, market observers have once again turned their attention to the fundamental challenges facing bitcoin. Some observers say recent events in the bitcoin development community, particularly as it relates to network scaling, have had an impact on overall market activity.
Until developers create applications “which can successfully change Bitcoin’s fundamentals,” the digital currency’s price “will not fluctuate drastically,” Chen Xin, chief financial architect at OKCoin, told CoinDesk.
Others were more optimistic about the future development of bitcoin, including Daniel Masters, who runs the Global Advisors Bitcoin Investment Fund.
He told CoinDesk: “I think there’s tangible progress on Lightning networks and segregated witness – both of which free up considerable capacity in the network. I think the collaboration being seen is a consequence of Mike Hearn’s rage-quit.” Masters noted that the July halving is approaching, but he also emphasized that at least for now, current conditions are “stable.”
By contrast, ether prices experienced notable volatility during the period, changing roughly 17% amid modest trading volume. Relative price stability
This stability was reflected in bitcoin’s price movements in the seven days through 13th May at 12:00 UTC, as the digital currency edged 1.4% higher week-over-week, according to the CoinDesk USD Bitcoin Price Index (BPI).
Bitcoin did experience some notable price movements, reaching a weekly high of $464.21 between 15:00 UTC and 17:59 UTC on 9th May and a weekly low of $447.76 between 09:00 UTC and 11:59 UTC on 10th May.After falling […]
