The cryptocurrency space came alive in the last 24 hours to extend its gains for the week despite growing global uncertainties amid recession fears.

Bitcoin, the world’s most dominant cryptocurrency, appreciated by 4.53% in the last 24 hours to take its gains to 12.64% in the last 7 days.

In the last 7 days, Eth, the token of the Ethereum protocol, has gained 21.36% from about $1000 a coin it traded a week ago to $1,235.67 on Thursday.

Similarly, BNB extended its gains to $242.45, an increase of 1.40% in 24 hours and 14.33% in the last 7 days to underscore a possible shift in the financial markets towards cryptocurrency, especially with global assets, both traditional haven assets like gold and even risk assets like stocks, commodities, etc, trading at a record-low.

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies crashed after Luna stablecoin plunged from over $40 billion market value or $90 a coin to about $800,000 in market value or $0.00004 a coin. The huge decline and the speed in which it happens, three days, sent a shocking wave to the investment world and alerted people to the danger of investing in an unproven and regulated space like cryptocurrency.

However, seasoned traders have said it is not unique and newbies would have to learn that in cryptocurrency investing, there are bearish and bullish seasons. This, they attributed to the Bitcoin Halving, a process in which Bitcoin reward for miners is halved after every 210,000 blocks or four years.

Still, experts like Changpeng Zhao, the Chief Executive Officer of Binance and the richest cryptocurrency investor alive, had called on people to only invest in cryptocurrency projects with real-world use cases.

Popularly known as CZ and estimated by Bloomberg to have a net worth of $96 billion, had repeatedly said the cryptocurrency space is here to stay and encourages inventors and innovators to focus on solving real-life problems.

Most members of the media have considered the negative components of President Nayib Bukele’s Bitcoin Gambit in El Salvador. It is true that the value of Bitcoin has tumbled since the president first bet big on the cryptocurrency. It is true that the IMF and lenders look at the country’s economic policy with extreme distrust, and agencies have dropped the country’s credit rating. It is true that the country has over a billion dollars in debt payments due over the next twelve months. If you look at how things have played out this far, you could say that it hasn’t quite gone as Bukele has hoped. In fact, many have said that.

But, let’s be pragmatic. Estimates show that the country has spent $374 on the Bitcoin gambit, in totality. A $50 million unrealized loss on Bitcoin holdings, in a country with a $29 billion economy, is less than a half percent of the national budget. But that unrealized loss is unrealized for a reason. President Bukele is doubling down on Bitcoin. He’s even bought the dip. He understands that this drawback is due to macroeconomic conditions, not the least of which being staggering inflation due to massive pandemic-related spending packages. Then, there’s an unpredictable war in Eastern Europe, not to mention the ongoing supply chain issues, still lingering from Covid shutdowns.

Those things have rained hellfire onto the digital assets space, but so, too, have they affected the traditional markets. The Dow Jones lost 1100 points in a single day of trading last month. Bukele knows that Bitcoin will bounce back. His investment in Bitcoin is one which is long-term. That said, he’s up for re-election in 2024 and continues to boast high approval ratings, thanks, in part, to his tough-on-crime stances.

The truth is that the economy in El Salvador has long been plagued by unfavorable conditions. The country has long paid a premium for its debt. In the country’s most recent credit downgrade, Fitch maligned the country’s “uncertain access to multilateral funding and external market financing given high borrowing costs,” in addition to its “limited scope for additional local market financing.”

But, let’s consider that. El Salvador has long had precious few major opportunities. Through the Bukele’s Bitcoin Gambit, the country has re-emerged on the global scene. While the move to Bitcoin was aimed at bringing the majority unbanked population into the modern financial scene, that takes time and consumer education. What the country has seen, immediately, is external interest. That, in and of itself, is significant, considering that, not long ago, El Salvador was more dangerous than Afghanistan.

Gambit — a term that many may only be familiar with from the recent Netflix hit, The Queen’s Gambit. But the definition, in part, says: an “opening remark, typically one entailing a degree of risk, that is calculated to gain an advantage.” Bukele put his country on the map again. Sure, there are real risks. Significant risks. It may well be the final nail in the country’s bid for a billion-plus dollar loan from the IMF. However, he has propelled El Salvador into the spotlight, creating a culture of innovation which is tech friendly and forward focused. Unfortunately, Bukele’s gambit launched right before a massive downturn in the markets, driven by investor fear. However, the cause doesn’t matter. Whether Bukele will be regarded as a forward-thinking leader is entirely dependent on Bitcoin’s turnaround.

There’s little doubt that Bitcoin will, indeed, turn around. But, timing is everything. Until then, there’s much to be said for the tourism boost that the tiny Central American country has received. Tourism is up 30% since Bitcoin became legal tender. The administration has planned a Bitcoin City, complete with mining powered by a volcano. Granted, the project is on hold due to market conditions, but El Salvador has a number of irons in the fire that they didn’t have three years ago.

In their cryptocurrency wallet rollout, only 20% of users continued to use the wallet after they spent their $30 in Bitcoin given to them by the government, but many argue that was due in large part to a poor user experience within the wallet. There’s a great deal that the country must work on, even within the master Bitcoin plan. Beyond it, it must find a way to begin to balance their budgets and continue to lower crime rates. However, if Bitcoin bounces back, and if the country can bring in significant external investments, many may look back at this gambit in a positive light. There are many opportunities to exploit, once the market begins to correct. In addition to the tourism angle and the mining apparatus, if the country continues to work on its economic fundamentals and infrastructure, it could see interest as a jurisdiction which is friendly to fintech and other cutting-edge innovations.

Sure, there’s a lot of risk here. And President Bukele has suffered the consequences of pretty poor timing. However, the gambit isn’t over until his political shelf-life wears out. And, right now, it doesn’t appear that will be in the near-term.

On Wednesday, altcoins pared gains from the US holiday rally as South Korea reassesses its position on cryptocurrency following Do Kwon-led $60 billion decline in the market value of Luna.

Despite Bitcoin hitting $32,000 a coin, cryptocurrency traders are not convinced the world’s most dominant digital coin can sustain its positive trajectory. Therefore, investors started taking profit after Bitcoin hits the $32,000 per coin resistance level.

In the last 24 hours, Bitcoin has dropped 6% of its value, and presently trading at $29,900 a coin. As recently as Tuesday morning, Bitcoin was trading above $32,000 on reports that China has started relaxing some of her COVID-19 restrictions and the possibility of the US Federal Reserve easing it recently raised interest rates.

By early Wednesday, all of that good faith had vanished, with investors reverting to the risk aversion that had characterized their actions for much of the previous eight months. Ether, which was selling at around $1,800 at the time, was also down over 7%.

Other big cryptocurrencies plummeted even more, with Luna Classic (LUNC), the new moniker for the original LUNA on the Terra protocol, plummeting by 61 percent at one point. SOL and ADA both dropped by almost 12%, while DOT fell by about 9%.

Joe DiPasquale, CEO of crypto fund manager BitBull, stated to CoinDesk, “Bitcoin’s price behavior today is not wholly unanticipated.” “Not only has it been under pressure from traditional markets, but it has also been unable to break through the $31K-$32K resistance zone, resulting in a breakdown from the weekend’s range.”

As investors reinforced their concerns about high inflation and the possibility of a recession, major stock indexes fell, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq and S&P 500 each shedding 0.7 percent. The price of gold and the yield on the 10-year Treasury note both increased.

Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JPMorgan Chase and a crypto skeptic, warned investors and analysts at a business conference on Wednesday that the firm would be prudent with its balance sheet and prepare for tough economic times.

Dimon expressed concern about central bank quantitative tightening as well as the ongoing consequences of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “It’s kind of bright right now, things are OK, and everyone feels the [US Federal Reserve] can manage this,” Dimon added. “That hurricane is right down the road, heading straight for us.”

Despite outpacing altcoins, Bitcoin ended May in the red, despite being a historically good month. That indicated investors’ choice of the least risky digital asset. Nonetheless, DiPasquale of BitBull was pessimistic about Bitcoin’s ability to rapidly rise. “Any prospects of a speedy reversal will require strong purchasing activity and a major sentiment shift moving forward,” he wrote.