After sliding all year, bitcoin just finished its best month of the year and may have found a low for this cycle, according to JPMorgan. “Despite the increase in cryptocurrency prices in July, the crypto markets are still down by half since the beginning of the year and trading volumes are still depressed. But it appears that the crypto markets have found a floor,” the firm’s Kenneth Worthington said in a note Monday. “Cryptocurrency prices recovered in July, a reprieve in the correction in token prices that has persisted since the cryptocurrency market prices peaked in November 2021,” he added. Prices for the 100 largest tokens were up 36% in the month of July, he noted. In June, bitcoin plunged to $17,958, its lowest level since December 2020, according to Coin Metrics. Ether sank to $881, its lowest level since January 2021. Ether than rebounded 70% in July. It was ether, rather than bitcoin, that led the most recent rally after the successful trials in June and July of the Ethereum Merge gave the market a confidence boost, Worthington said. The “Merge” refers to the long-anticipated transition of the Ethereum network to a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism from proof-of-work. The change affects how transactions are validated and is expected to cut Ethereum’s energy consumption by more than 99%. It’s due to take place in September and many are expecting the price of ether to jump when it’s completed. A lack of further destruction from the fallout of the Terra network’s collapse in the spring helped sentiment, too. “What has helped, we think, has been more limited new contagion from the collapse of Terra/Luna,” Worthington said. On Monday the price of ether hit its highest level in two months and was last trading around $1,770. Bitcoin was up to about $23,900.
