Bitcoin back above $57K as ‘hundreds’ of US banks prepare to HODL for clients

Bullish news kickstarts a lackluster Bitcoin after an overnight slump neared $53,000 and altcoins kept surging.

Bitcoin (BTC) staged a characteristic comeback on May 5 as a day of losses turned around in a flash.

BTC price nears $58,000

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD passing $57,000 again during Wednesday trading, with daily gains knocking on 5%.

The move marks Bitcoin’s second such “comeback” in a week. While the bearish trend reset, analysts were keen to see how much fuel Bitcoin had accumulated after dipping to near $53,000 overnight.

For Philip Swift, co-founder of trading suite Decentrader, fundamental indicators still pointed to a continuation of the longer-term bull market.

“I continue to think that Bitcoin will not crash and is more likely to range before breaking out to the upside,” part of a series of tweets read on the day.

“Many other indicators suggest $BTC has much more upside and the cycle is not over.”

Swift specifically noted that one tool, the Pi Cycle Top indicator, had “nailed” Bitcoin’s most recent all-time high of $64,500 in April. As Cointelegraph reported, Pi has become increasingly popular for those tracking BTC price trends over successive years.

At the time of writing, BTC/USD circled $57,200, ruminating after reaching local highs of $57,400.

No plain sailing for altcoin bagholders

Hodlers thus received a welcome response from the largest cryptocurrency, which had spent much of the week being humiliated at the hands of a surging altcoin market.

Among the astonishing movers were tokens such as Dogecoin (DOGE) and Ethereum Classic (ETC), the latter having laid dormant for much of the past three years since the end of the previous broad “alt season.”

Words of caution, veiled or not, were nonetheless not in short supply, as Bitcoin proponents warned about the fickle nature of such parabolic altcoin moves.

Bitcoin dragging all markets down as people flee to superior assets such as Dogecoin.

— ∞ CO฿IE (@CryptoCobain) May 4, 2021

Acting in Bitcoin’s favor meanwhile was news that it would be supported by “hundreds” of banks in the United States in 2021, along with investment giant Grayscale becoming a sponsor of NFL team the New York Giants. 

“What we’re doing is making it simple for everyday Americans and corporations to be able to buy bitcoin through their existing bank relationship,” said Patrick Sells, head of bank solutions at crypto custody firm NYDIG, which is behind the scheme, revealing the scale of the rollout to CNBC.