Bitcoin 

BTC

$22,958

 is still on course to hit $100,000 this year, and its recent dip is “unchanged price action.”

That was the conclusion of one of the industry’s best-known investors as BTC/USD recovered from its trip to near $46,000.

Tapiero eyes “very rare buy signal” for Bitcoin...

In a tweet on Tuesday, fund manager Dan Tapiero revealed that he had been “inundated” with concerned clients over Bitcoin’s recent price dip. There was, however, no need to panic.

Highlighting a technical (TD sequential) buy signal not seen since the March 2020 crash to $3,600, Tapiero gave hope to those wondering what became of the myriad sky-high BTC price predictions for 2021.

“A very rare td buy signal in Bitcoin. Last one came right at the March '20 low. Still see 100k this yr,” he wrote.

“Overwhelmed with calls of panic last few days over what is unchanged price action...ie still at 50k. Hodl is the only way to be long without emotion.”

...While market eyes new “Elon candle”

The comments came in tandem with a curious exchange between Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and popular trader Dave Portnoy, the latter a famous Bitcoin skeptic who nonetheless caved in to pressure to add it to his portfolio earlier this year.

When it became known that Tesla had sold a portion of its holdings, Portnoy took this as proof of the company’s lack of belief in its long-term viability. Musk denied this and claimed that it was in fact a test of its utility.

“I have not sold any of my Bitcoin,” part of a Twitter response read.

“Tesla sold 10% of its holdings essentially to prove liquidity of Bitcoin as an alternative to holding cash on balance sheet.”

Musk is a classic source for short-term Bitcoin price movements, and any admission that he had permanently divested himself of his allocation could have easily skewed sentiment to the downside.

In the event, BTC/USD returned to levels near $55,000, making gains of almost 10% since the start of the weekend in what could be another classic “Elon candle” move.

“Bitcoin hodl confirmed,” Blockstream CEO Adam Back commented on the Twitter exchange.

Tesla itself reported record profits this week.

As Cointelegraph reported, Bitcoin’s underlying fundamentals very much suggest “business as usual” for the largest cryptocurrency despite the recent upheaval.

Changes in circumstances for miners, one of the likely triggers for the price dip, were already being accounted for on Monday, and weak-handed traders betting on more downside were getting liquidated.