With the price of bitcoin appreciating nearly 20% in May and breaking past $500 for the first time since 2014, it’s safe to say the digital currency is once again back in the mainstream spotlight as an investment opportunity.
However, what may be most notable is that the gains took place amid strong overall sentiment. Data reveals the gains coincided with high long-short ratios and other indicators that sentiment is turning strongly bullish as we enter the summer months.
But, while May’s price rally may seem impressive due to the substantial media interest it’s achieved, it was only the fourth-largest monthly gain in the last year, CoinDesk USD Bitcoin Price Index ( BPI ) data reveals.
As recently as February 2016, bitcoin experienced a larger monthly increase, when it posted a gain of 18.92%.
By the numbers, May’s monthly gain was slightly lower than that of February’s, when bitcoin prices rose from $367.14 to $436.61, an 18.92% increase. The May rally also fell short of November 2015’s monthly gain, when prices climbed 20.64% from $312.43 to $376.91.
Overall, the digital currency climbed 18.35% in May, opening at $449.33 and closing at $531.80, the second consecutive month in which it posted gains.
Perhaps most notable was the concentration of the price movement, however. The digital currency captured its entire monthly increase during the last five trading sessions, which spanned 27th May through 31st May. Market sentiment
But how bullish were bitcoin traders in May?Long volume always exceeded short volume, figures provided by bitcoin trading community Whaleclub show.A sampling of monthly data performed by Whaleclub shows that the lowest long-short ratio – as measured by position size – was 52%. In addition, confidence, meaning the percentage by which a particular day’s position sizes were larger than average, was at least 44% over the course of the month.Additional […]
