With Segregated Witness finally activating on the Bitcoin network, a lot of people expected another major BTC price jump. That is not exactly how things went, as the Bitcoin price actually took a slight hit over the subsequent hours. This seemingly confirms that the price already accounted for Segregated Witness becoming a part of Bitcoin. It is a bit unclear how things will evolve from here on out, as there seems to be no urgency to continued moves in either direction.
No Bitcoin Price Action Despite SegWit Activation
A lot of interesting things have happened in the world of Bitcoin these past few weeks. First of all, virtually all mining pools came together to lock in the activation of Segregated Witness on the network. Considering how the largest pools actively opposed this implementation for nearly a full year, it was considered a major victory for the ecosystem as a whole when things finally fell into place. It is worth noting the same level of collaboration had ensured Litecoin would receive Segregated Witness well before Bitcoin did.
With the activation locked in successfully about two weeks ago, the community was abuzz with excitement. As soon as the lock-in was confirmed, we saw the Bitcoin price respond in a positive manner. It allowed the price to reach several new all-time highs in quick succession, but things have since gone quiet. This doesn’t mean the Bitcoin price lost value, mind you, as it still hovers around the US$4,175 mark as we speak. However, there have been no further major increases all week.
In fact, all we have seen has been a slow but steady decline of the Bitcoin price until 48 hours ago. At that point, all losses sustained during the days prior were regained. It is still unclear why the Bitcoin price took the downturn it did over the past few weeks, but cryptocurrency markets have always been pretty volatile, to say the least. With the market recovering slowly but surely, it seems we are back to where we started around a week ago. That is good news, all things considered.
However, a lot of people had expected more Bitcoin price momentum given the fact SegWit was finally activated on the network. In fact, several events were organized around the world to celebrate the SegWit activation. So far, it appears the overall community cares a lot more about this feat than the actual traders and market makers do. After all, the activation was a guarantee two weeks ago, and nothing has changed now that it is active on the network.
More to the point, it appears most traders had factored the SegWit aspect into the Bitcoin price. That is not entirely surprising, as there was no way the activation could have been avoided. It is of more importance how things proceed from here on out. Especially with SegWit2x still being a somewhat viable option, there will be some tough decisions to be made in the coming weeks and months. Moreover, once the Lightning Network launches on the main net, we may see some major Bitcoin price action.
Until that happens, the most logical outcome for the Bitcoin price appears to be a lot of sideways trading momentum. There is plenty of trading volume every day, but it will take a lot more effort to generate any price swings in the future. With various altcoins having recently gained in value, a lot of traders have high hopes for the alternative cryptocurrency market as far as short-term gains are considered. This also explains why we see multiple altcoin/bitcoin trading markets generating more volume than some fiat currency-oriented pairs. All things considered, the Bitcoin price is fine for now, but it is doubtful we will see any major action over the next few days.
