One week ago Bitcoin went through a major correction and by the end of the day hit $6,000 for the first time since November. Despite that, on the 8th of February BTC managed to climb up to $8,000 and remain fairly stable there.
This way, $8,000 turned into a strong support level for the currency and also allowed BTC to get rid of some of the "weak hands" which were driving the price down over the past days.
However, BTC didn't manage to break the $9,000 resistance level. It came close to touching $9,025, but then pulled back to $8,500.
Bitcoin trading volumes remain relatively low. It's clear that it will need more trades to break the $9,000 level and get back to $10,000.
JPMorgan report
This week JPMorgan has released a report stating that cryptocurrencies will not be going away in the future, but will play an important role as an instrument of portfolio diversification alongside bonds and shares:
“If past returns, volatilities and correlations persist, [cryptocurrencies] could potentially have a role in diversifying one’s global bond and equity portfolio. But in our view, that is a big if given the astronomic returns and volatilities of the past few years.”
Chinese New Year
Finally, Chinese New Year is starting on the 16th of February which typically results in decreased trading volumes and less business in general.
The official celebration will last from the 15th until the 21st of February. After that, we will most likely see an increase in trading volumes.