Flagship cryptocurrency Bitcoin (BTCUSD) has made gains over the festive season for the last five years.
Investors looking for trading opportunities during the so-called ‘Crimbo limbo’, when traditional equity markets are either closed for trading or experiencing a festive lull, will find plenty of action in the cryptocurrency markets. Last Christmas, Bitcoin rose from $23,746.97 to $36,873.42 between December 24th and January 6th, 2021 – marking a 55% increase. Number two cryptocurrency Ethereum (ETHUSD) trumped this, almost doubling in value (up 96%) in the same 14-day period, climbing from $613.08 to $1,204.72. [1]
Bitcoin hit an all-time intraday high of $20,089 on December 17, 2017, and subsequently traded as low as $3186 during December 2018. However, despite this fall over the year, the crypto experienced an increase of 26% between Christmas Eve 2017 and Epiphany 2018, spiking from $13,925.80 to $17,527. Ethereum once again eclipsed this with a 50% rise ($694.15 to $1,041.68).
The Christmas period of 2019-2020 (December 24th-January 6th) saw Bitcoin make – by crypto standards – a modest gain of 7.5%. Ethereum meanwhile advanced 13% in the same timeframe increasing from $127.59 to $144.37.
“Any investor or trader finding themselves bored over the Christmas period and looking for a bit of market craziness will certainly find it in the crypto market; a market that never sleeps,” said Clem Chambers, CEO of ADVFN. “It’s a wild ride and certainly not for the fainthearted. As we’ve seen with Bitcoin again this year, what goes up often comes down, with swings of 20% or more not unusual for the ‘blue crypts,’ and even bigger fluctuations for other coins. For a longer-term strategy, if you believe crypto has a great future, as I do, then dollar cost averaging is one way to go.”
