Bitcoin Hovers Near $16,000 Mark But Still Trails Ethereum In Yearly Gain

Bitcoin approached the $16,000 mark at press time, having gained nearly 12% in a 24-hour period.

What Happened: The apex cryptocurrency was well above the psychological $15,000 level with nearly all top altcoins following its lead.

“Bitcoin is above the psychological threshold of $15,000 today on strongly positive momentum, having cleared resistance from 2019,” Fairlead Strategies technical analyst Katie Stockton told CoinDesk. 

Ethereum (ETH) was up 7.23% at press time, while Chainlink (LINK) and Litecoin (LTC) had gained 8.43% and 12.28% respectively. 

XRP was higher by 5.69% and Bitcoin Cash (BCH) by 5.02% at press time.

Ethereum has outperformed Bitcoin in terms of year-to-date returns surging 235.59% for the period, while Bitcoin rose 119.27%.

John Willock, CEO of Tritum told CoinDesk that while ETH has similar qualities to BTC it also has the “added value of utility with the network it powers.”

“With the long-anticipated forthcoming ETH 2.0 proof-of-stake upgrade, it will, from an investment perspective, become a yield-bearing instrument which has much broader appeal,” said Willock.

Why It Matters: Bitcoin is seen as an asset that can counter the impact of governmental spending and has emerged as a bet against uncertain times, noted CoinDesk.

“The U.S. is going to push the spending button again no matter who wins the White House,” analyst Henrik Kugelberg told CoinDesk.

Guy Hirsch, Managing Director of multi-assets brokerage eToro told CoinDesk that the macroeconomic situation in the U.S. and elsewhere is “far more uncertain” amid mounting concerns regarding COVID-19.

“All in all, it feels like a perfect storm for retail [bitcoin] adoption that’s coming right at the beginning of an expected wave of institutional capital,” said Hirsch.

This month, PayPal Holdings Inc PYPL CEO Daniel Schulman said at the company’s third-quarter earnings call that its entry into the cryptocurrency space was “just the beginning of the opportunities.”

Price Action: At press time, Bitcoin traded 11.81% higher at $15,808.40, Ethereum traded 7.23% higher at $433.32, XRP gained 5.69% at $0.24, while Litecoin rose 12.28% to $61.44. Bitcoin Cash and Chainlink rose 5.02% and 8.43% respectively at $255.46 and $11.39 respectively.