Published: April 6th, 2020
As major stocks and equities continued to flounder, Bitcoin, gold and other safe-haven assets rebounded. The price of the world’s first cryptocurrency rose by 2% in the last week. The surge is due to the investors’ search for alternative investment opportunities. But despite the impressive gains, one coin has outstripped Bitcoin’s gain and keeps climbing higher.
The privacy-centered Monero, which currently is the 12th cryptocurrency by market capitalization (Approx. $990 Billion – April 6, 10:34 UTC) has gained more than 5% in the last week alone, eclipsing Bitcoin’s gains.
Monero which offers better privacy compared to most cryptocurrencies, gained over 6% within the 24-hour trading period of Thursday, March 2, alone. It was not immediately clear why the cryptocurrency was a darling of investors in the space all of a sudden. However, the Bitcoin rival has scored several positives over the last few months.
First, its developers recently put forth an update of the platform’s Carbo Chameleon software. With a design that significantly improves the transaction processing and execution and introduces efficiency regarding how the Monero blockchain works with I2P and TOR, Monero now gets more obscure and considerably fast.
Second, Monero is among the few privacy coins that recently enjoyed overwhelming support from notable figures in the tech and cryptocurrency spaces. In a blog post that Brian Armstrong, Coinbase CEO wrote in January, he foresees a situation where privacy shall be incorporated into one of the leading chains in 2020. He was referring to Monero in a not-so-subtle manner.
Armstrong compared the privacy transition in the crypto industry with the internet’s HTTP and HTTPS default update to what will happen to Monero in the 2020s. He said a privacy coin or blockchain with inbuilt privacy features will get mainstream adoption in 2020.
Saying that it is not prudent to always broadcast the details of your transactions in an open ledger, Armstrong said that Monero’s features hint at where privacy in the cryptocurrency is headed.
Monero also got an endorsement early this year from John McAfee, a forthright yet controversial antivirus software developer and probably America’s best curveball presidential candidate. McAfee named Monero as his coin of choice, lauding both Monero and Ethereum as the coins to watch.
The self-proclaimed jailbird is, however, yet to eat his manhood on national TV and does not seem ready to. McAfee took his controversy a few notches higher when he promised that he will stuff his manhood down his throat if Bitcoin does not attain the dream price of $500,000 before the end of 2020. He has since backtracked on the outrageous promise.
While singing praises for Monero, McAfee extolled the superiority that Monero wields over Bitcoin. The tech entrepreneur compared Bitcoin to Ford Model T. Saying that Bitcoin came first, he also pointed out that it now is ancient technology. Monero, on the other hand, is a new technology, meaning it offers better privacy, has smart contracts, distributed apps, and many more features.
The antivirus guru closed his sermon by recommending Monero to cryptocurrency enthusiasts.
Monero did not take the impressive leap alone; other cryptocurrencies in the top 50 also did relatively well. The gains recorded during the past week made up for a substantial portion of the damage that the coronavirus pandemic has meted on most markets.
Overall, Bitcoin closed the week up 9%. By the time of compiling this piece (Monday, April 6, 10:34 UTC), the world’s first cryptocurrency had leaped past $7,000. Ethereum also did well, recording a double-digit increase to stand at $144.44. It has started the week on a high, keeping the bullish trend that it set last week. By the opening session of the Asian trading the world’s second cryptocurrency was exchanging at $152.94; a rise of more than 12% week-on-week.
The other top performers include Cardano, Chainlink, IOTA, and Bitcoin Cash. The named coins managed double-digit jumps this past week. It, however, is not all rosy for all the coins in the top 50. Maker (MKR) and NEM spent most of last week on the red, recording falls of between 2 and 3%. They, however, seem to have retraced their way back to the upward trajectory.
With some $19,974,122.27 worth of Monero traded in the past 24 hours, the coin is giving mixed signals. Overall, it has maintained an upward trajectory. It was momentarily down on Sunday, March 6, shedding about 0.80% off Friday’s closing price and 0.50% lower on the Bitcoin benchmark.
The market conditions, however, may not sustain the price correction witnessed. Already, the cryptocurrency is exhibiting bullish characteristics and its price seems keen on surging even further this week. Moreover, the prediction is well within the price action of the past few days.
Monero has exhibited strong recovery traits for the past fortnight. It traded majorly around the $47-mark last week with few spikes close to $50 and back. It breached the $50-mark on April 3 and has continued on an upward move ever since.
On Sunday, Monero opened trading at $54.36 facing a 7-hour resistance before shedding 2.36% to fall to $53.08. The price later recovered by about 2% ($54.13). Breaching the $54-line came with some resistance. The coin later yielded to another wave of resistance where it lost 2.81% to rest momentarily at $52.61.
An upward momentum started late yesterday. By 2:00 UTC, Monero had gained some 3% to breach the $54-mark once more. The relative strength index (RSI) is now over 40 points, an indication that the demand still holds.
The coin’s upward rise seems sustainable for now. It is trading at $57.02, which is well within resistance and support levels. Another day or even a week of impressive gains is possible.
The past week saw most cryptocurrencies bounce back from the fall they experienced in March due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. As the surge happened, Monero got to an overdrive of sorts, gaining more than 6% in just 24 hours and eclipsing both Bitcoin and Ethereum. From the witnessed trend, this upward jog may hold on for a while.