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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 took a slight hit over the past few hours. This seemingly confirms the current 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 keep pushing the price up or down.
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 to be a major victory for the ecosystem a whole when things finally fell into place. It is well worth noting the same level of collaboration ensured Litecoin would receive Segregated Witness well before Bitcoin did.
With the activation locked-in successfully around 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, although things have gone quiet again ever since. This doesn’t mean the Bitcoin price lost its value, mind you, as it still hovers around the $4,175 mark as we speak. However, there have been no major further increases all week.
In fact, all we have seen is a slow but steady decline of the Bitcoin price until 48 hours ago. At that point, all losses sustained during the days prior were successfully regained. It is still unclear why the Bitcoin price took this downturn 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 expected more Bitcoin price momentum given the fact SegWit is finally activated on the network. 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 maker do. After all, the activation was a guarantee two weeks ago, and nothing has changed now that is effectively active on the network.
More specifically, it appears most traders factored in the SegWit aspect in the current Bitcoin price. That is not entirely surprising, as there was no way the activation could still be 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 swing in the future. With various altcoins gaining in value recently, 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 generate 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.
Disclaimer
The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not reflect the views of Bitcoin Insider. Every investment and trading move involves risk - this is especially true for cryptocurrencies given their volatility. We strongly advise our readers to conduct their own research when making a decision.