Bitcoin and altcoins prices correct after Yellen’s criticism of ‘illicit financing’

On Tuesday, Ether experienced a bullish breakout that drove the price to a new all-time high of $1,428.

While the movement may have been technical, Etheruem’s fundamentals proceed to improve. There is now $3.8 billion worth of ETH locked on the Eth2 blockchain.

The rapid price rise has attracted the attention of professional traders. Still, Marcel Pechman, Cointelegraph analyst, cautions that a considerable increase of short positions also accompanied Ether’s rise to a new high.

Ether’s breakout to a new all-time high had little effect on the price of Bitcoin, and it appears that critical comments from former US Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen harmed the broader market today.

Yellen, nominated as Secretary of the Treasury to President-elect Joe Biden, said that cryptocurrencies are being used “primarily for illicit financing.” She made those comments during a hearing with the Senate Finance Committee. Also, She advocated for significant fiscal stimulus by telling Congress to “go big” to help America’s ailing economy.

Institutions remain optimistic

Despite today’s slight correction, institutional investors remain bullish on the long-term outlook for Bitcoin. A recent projection from hedge fund Vailshire Capital Management claimed an “imminent breakout.” PlanB, the creator of the popular Stock-to-Flow model, has predicted that the price of Bitcoin could close the month near $48,000.

Looking ahead, analysts think that the indicators continue to reveal the BTC/USD pair’s extreme bullish potential.

According to Dan Tapiero, a co-founder of Gold Bullion International, after the Bitcoin thermocap signalled that the price was in the early stages of setting up a bubble, the volatility now suggests that the market is moving ahead with its gains. 

Unlike the cryptocurrency market, traditional markets ended the day showing strength, as Wall Street viewed Yellen’s call for additional economic stimulus as positive. The S&P 500, Dow and NASDAQ ended the trading day strong after Yellen’s remarks, closing up 0.81%, 0.38% and 1.5% respectively.

Despite Yellen’s negative opinion, the positive advancements for various blockchain projects helped drive up some altcoins’ prices.

The price of Enjin rose 71% after the project was legally authorized for commercialization by the Japan Virtual Currency Exchanges Association, JVCEA. Apart from Ether, the top 20 top performing coin in the last 24 hours was Bitcoin Cash, up 7.46% and trading at $546.

The entire cryptocurrency market’s capitalization is now $1.046 trillion, and Bitcoin’s dominance rate is 65%.