The blockchain/crypto week in quotes

“Bitcoin has sprung back to life on a new wave of momentum. Though some bears still remain, this move could signal that the majority of investor sentiment is now turning bullish. Breaking above the $5,000 psychological barrier means Bitcoin’s next resistance level is due for recalibration.

The new resistance level of $6,000, where price held for months last year, is now in play. What happens next will be crucial. How price reacts to a retest of the $6,000 level will have a lasting impact on the mid- and long-term outlook for Bitcoin.” Simon Peters, Analyst, eToro

“(Bitcoin) sentiment has shifted here. All indications that we have, whether it be fundamentals, technicals, the quantitative analysis we do, all suggest that we probably have at least started to put in the bottoming process.” Brian Kelly, Founder and CEO, BKCM

“After being in bear territory there is a growing sense that Bitcoin is back. I’m now calling that the market has bottomed and the so-called crypto winter has come to an end. I believe Bitcoin will now move higher over the next few weeks and months, making steady gains for investors. As the largest cryptocurrency by market cap, this will have a positive impact on prices in the wider crypto sector.

The recent dramatic jump in the price of Bitcoin is likely to attract many investors who have been sitting on the sidelines. In addition, it can be expected to reignite institutional interest.” Nigel Green, Founder and Chief Executive, deVere Group

“Just as small and mid-caps offer potentially higher rewards in the stock market, the data from Messari demonstrates that there are still high returns to be found in small to mid-cap altcoins, such as Ravencoin (RVN). Ravencoin surpassed all other medium cap cryptos, boasting a 386% increase in Q1.

It has had some real momentum behind it, demonstrating how well a community project can do. We’ve found our miners are real fans. with approximately 50% of our users mining it on a daily basis. It’s a great coin to mine with GPUs – it’s profitable, ASIC-resistant and decentralised, it has a great future ahead if it.” Matt Hawkins, Founder and CEO, Cudo

“There’s always a myriad of possible reasons why Bitcoin has had a surge in price. The fact that there was $415 million worth in short positions on the Bitmex exchange may have been too succulent a target for the market not to move against. There have also been rumours about buying bots going awol after some fake news about an ETF green light from the SEC was released as part of an April fools joke. You literally can’t make this stuff up.

I’d veer towards the first explanation than the second, going by the fact the ETF rumour came out a full 24 hours after the rally began. Moving away from a specific catalyst or event, lately there’s definitely been positive sentiment in the market these last few weeks. There’s a sense that perhaps we’ve reached the lows for this cycle and it’s onwards and upwards from here on in. I think it’s still too early to call it, but it seems that that hasn’t stopped a few eager buyers jumping the starting gun.” George McDonaugh, CEO and Co-Founder, KR1