October-End Witnesses Stability in Bitcoin Prices

By Swati Kishore

The latter half of the month of October witnessed the prices of Bitcoin attaining never-before stability in the year 2018. Mid October, which was underscored by volatility, gave way to the price of Bitcoin settling into a narrow trading range of USD 6350 to USD 6500. It is interesting to note that on October 19, the daily volatility of Bitcoin fell below USD 100, from hereon it continued to fall, and as of October 26 the trend continues. This is the first time since April 2017 that an entire week has witnessed such stability in the price of Bitcoin.

At the time of such stability in April 2017, the daily average volatility was about USD 33. The price of Bitcoin at the time was USD 1200, which represents a volatility of 2.75%. Comparatively, we are seeing even more stability as the period of October 19, 2018 to October 26, 2018 saw a volatility of just 0.86%. This is quite a headline since the daily prices of Bitcoin in the past have swung wildly, as much as 5 to 10% or more.

The current stability in Bitcoin definitely makes the cryptocurrency more viable as a store of value. Whenever Bitcoin’s prices have swung wildly, the merchants have been been under the pressure to sell the currency so as to not risk losing money to fiat currency. Presently, Bitcoin is much more stable, hence there is no imminent need for users to sell their Bitcoin.

As for the day traders, perhaps these are not very good days since they are dependent on volatility in prices to earn quick bucks. It is interesting to note that such traders who speculate on the prices are themselves a source of the the volatility in the prices of Bitcoin.

The Bitcoin price stability could indicate the approach of a market bottom. We can expect the prices of the cryptocurrency to rise from hereon. We are anticipating that the launch of Bitcoin futures on Bakkt at the end of this year will give the much required push to start another rally of Bitcoin.