Mastercard, the leading credit card conglomerate, will allow its users to utilize some cryptocurrencies on its payment network, becoming the latest to adopt crypto. The price of Bitcoin moved rapidly after the Mastercard and BNY Mellon news broke, refueling momentum in the market.
Raj Dhamodharan, executive vice president of digital asset and blockchain products and partnerships, said:
“Many of the hundreds of digital assets in circulation still need to tighten their compliance measures, so they won’t meet our requirements. We expect consumers and the ecosystem as a whole will start to rally around the crypto assets that offer reliability and security.
Our change to supporting digital assets directly will allow many more merchants to accept crypto — an ability that’s currently limited by proprietary methods unique to each digital asset. This change will also cut out inefficiencies, letting both consumers and merchants avoid having to convert back and forth between crypto and traditional to make purchases.”
What happens to crypto and Bitcoin next?
Mastercard’s decision to adopt cryptocurrencies comes as BNY Mellon also enters the crypto market.
Generally, the level of mainstream adoption in the cryptocurrency space among institutional investors and public corporations is currently unprecedented.
Analysts and fund managers say that Bitcoin has never seen this much institutional interest in the past, noting that the market sentiment remains overwhelmingly positive.
The 4-hour Bitcoin price chart.
Following Mastercard and BNY Mellon’s statements, the price of Bitcoin surged from around $45,000 to a new all-time high above $48,000.
The sentiment around Bitcoin was already significantly positive after Tesla purchased $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin. The Mastercard and BNY Mellon news further amplified the positivity around the market.
In the near term, traders say Bitcoin is likely to continue its rally despite a heavily overcrowded futures market.
The demand for Bitcoin has been coming from the spot market and institutional vehicles, such as the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust.
Hence, even if the futures market is extremely overheated, the probability that the rally would continue on remains high.
The risk of short-term corrections persists, as the futures market resets, but the macro picture remains healthy.
Wall Street is coming en masse
Kelvin Koh, a partner at Spartan Group, one of the biggest DeFi-focused funds in Asia, emphasized that the most respected figures in Wall Street and Silicon Valley are now nvested in crypto. He said:
“Mark Cuban, Peter Thiel, Elon Musk, Chamath P, Paul Tudor Jones, Stan Drunkenmiller. The Who’s who of Wall Street and Silicon Valley all own crypto. If you are still a skeptic, what is your defense? Are you smarter than these guys combined?”
Considering the continuous inflow of capital from institutions and high-net-worth investors, the overall positivity around Bitcoin would likely remain intact for the foreseeable future.
TA: Why Bitcoin Bulls Could Aim $50K After Recent Rally To $48.6K
Bitcoin price started a fresh upward move from the $44,000 zone against the US Dollar. BTC traded to a new all-time high near $48,680 and it is likely to continue higher towards $50,000.
Bitcoin is showing a lot of positive signs above the $46,000 and $47,500 resistance levels.
The price is trading above the $48,000 resistance and the 100 hourly simple moving average.
There is a key contracting triangle pattern forming with support near $47,000 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair (data feed from Kraken).
The pair is likely to continue higher towards the $50,000 level as long as it is above $47,000.
Bitcoin Price is Eyeing More Upsides
After correcting lower towards the $44,000 level, bitcoin price started a fresh upward move. BTC broke the $46,000 resistance level and remained stable above the 100 hourly simple moving average.
As a result, the bulls were able to push the price above the $47,000 and $47,500 resistance levels. The price is now trading nicely above $48,000 and it even carved a new all-time high at $48,680. It is now consolidating gains above the $48,000 level.
An initial support is near the $47,570 level. It is close to the 23.6% Fib retracement level recent wave from the $44,005 swing low to $48,680 high. There is also a key contracting triangle pattern forming with support near $47,000 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair.
The triangle support is close to the 50% Fib retracement level recent wave from the $44,005 swing low to $48,680 high. On the upside, the $48,500 region is a short-term resistance. The next key resistance might be near the $49,400 level. The overall price action suggests that bitcoin bulls might aim a test of $50,000 in the near term.
Dips Limited in BTC?
If bitcoin fails to continue higher, it could correct lower below the $47,500 level. The first major support is near the $47,000 level and the triangle lower trend line.
The main support is now forming near the $45,000 level or the 100 hourly simple moving average. Any more losses could open the doors for a drop below the $44,000 support in the near term.
Technical indicators:
Hourly MACD – The MACD is slowly gaining momentum in the bullish zone.
Hourly RSI (Relative Strength Index) – The RSI for BTC/USD is now above the 50 level.
Major Support Levels – $47,000, followed by $45,000.
Major Resistance Levels – $48,500, $49,400 and $50,000.