By Samuel Indyk
Investing.com – The price of Bitcoin dropped back below $40,000 on Monday after Saudi Aramco (SE:2222) denied reports that it was planning to enter the cryptocurrency industry and mine Bitcoin.
“With reference to recent reports claiming that the company will embark on Bitcoin mining activities, Aramco confirms that these claims are completely false and inaccurate,” the energy giant said in a statement.
Media reports over the weekend suggested that Aramco was looking to mine cryptocurrency with power from flared gases they’re not using.
Bitcoin price
Over the weekend Bitcoin hit $42,500, its highest level since 18th May, after breaking above its 100-day moving average.
Bitcoin had been in a downtrend after the sell off in April and May but comments from Elon Musk and more signs of institutional interest have supported prices in the latest week.
Last week, Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Musk said the electric vehicle company would “likely” begin accepting Bitcoin as payment again, after stopping accepting the cryptocurrency in May citing its environmental impact.
Rumours that Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) was looking to accept Bitcoin as payment on its website by the end of the year also supported prices. The rumours started following an Amazon job advertisement for a digital currency and blockchain lead.
However, Amazon released a statement denying any imminent plans to accept Bitcoin as payment.
“Notwithstanding our interest in the space, the speculation that has ensued around our specific plans for cryptocurrencies is not true,” an Amazon spokesperson said.
Technical Picture
The aforementioned 100-day moving average around $39,850 could be a key level with the latest drop bringing the price of Bitcoin back below the level, after moving above it on Friday for the first time since 11th May.
Support could also be seen around $38,300 which was the low hit on Thursday.
“As long as Bitcoin holds above its triangle breakout at $34,300, it remains on track to rally in the coming hours, days, weeks,” said OANDA Senior Market Analyst Jeffrey Halley in an emailed note. “The target for the triangle breakout being around $51,000.”
At 12:11BST, Bitcoin was trading around $39,500, down around 5% in the latest 24 hours.