January 31, 2023<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By Murtuza Merchant<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bitcoin has been having a strong start to the year and is on track to have its best January since 2013.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As we entered the new year, the value of Bitcoin was around $16,500, but in a matter of about four weeks, it has already risen to over $23,500, resulting in a return on investment of about 41%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is particularly significant because, in the past, January has usually resulted in negative returns for Bitcoin investors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, this year seems to be different as the returns so far this month stand close to 40%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Looking back, out of the last 10 Januaries, Bitcoin investors have fetched negative returns in six of them, while in the other four, they’ve fetched double-digit positive gains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The only exception was in 2013 when the returns stood slightly higher at 44%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ethereum, on the other hand, has not seen as much success this January.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The largest altcoin was trading in the $1,100-$1,200 bracket during the initial days of January.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the time of writing on Sunday, it was seen hovering around $1,610.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a result, its 2023 return on investment stood at 34%, while in January 2021 and 2018, it registered gains in the 50%-80% bracket.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite Ethereum’s performance this month, experts predict that the trend may change in the near future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is due to the upcoming Shanghai upgrade, which is slated for the first quarter of 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The community is gradually turning bullish as the upgrade is expected to bring significant improvements to the network’s scalability and security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Additionally, Ethereum recently re-entered the deflationary zone earlier this week, thanks to the rising NFT sales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Last year’s EIP-1559 upgrade introduced a base-fee burning mechanism post every Ethereum transaction, which helped set the stage for Ethereum to become deflationary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If the number of tokens burned continues to eclipse the number of issued tokens, then the price would gradually rise due to a decrease in supply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From a technical perspective, Bitcoin also seems to be gearing up to extend its rally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Noel Saldanha, a technical analyst, a golden cross is on the verge of materializing on the daily chart, which is a positive sign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A golden cross usually occurs when a short-term moving average overtakes a major long-term moving average to the upside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Therefore, if the 50-day moving average (DMA) ends up breaking past the 200-DMA, another price uptrend phase can be anticipated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In conclusion, while January has been a strong month for Bitcoin, Ethereum has not seen as much success. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, experts predict that this may change in the near future due to the upcoming Shanghai upgrade and an increase in NFT sales. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Additionally, technical analysis suggests that Bitcoin may continue to rise in value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
About the author<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Murtuza Merchant is a senior journalist and an avid follower of blockchain and cryptocurrencies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" January 31, 2023 By Murtuza Merchant Bitcoin has been having a strong start to the year and is on track to have its best January since 2013. As we entered the new year, the value of Bitcoin was around $16,500, but in a matter of about four weeks, it has already risen to over $23,500, resulting […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":3326,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[107,129],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3325","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-all","category-ethereum"],"yoast_head":"\n