Crypto investors got off to a pretty rocky start in 2022.
Save for some stablecoins, which by definition aren't intended to have much price volatility, most every digital token sold off in January.
You need look no further than the top two cryptocurrencies to see what we're talking about.
The Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) price kicked off the New Year at US$47,178. By 31 January it had fallen to US$36,918, down 22% for the month.
Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH), the world's number 2 token by market cap, suffered even more. The Ethereum price stood at US$3,799 on 1 January before dropping to US$2,515 by month's end, a loss of 34%.
Both tokens have recovered some from their end of January lows. The Bitcoin price is currently US$44,020 while the Ethereum price stands at US$3,144.
And eToro's market analyst and crypto expert Simon Peters believes they could be in for another big leg up, thanks to US tech giant Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL).
Image source: Getty Images
Why crypto could be set for a fresh liftoff
If you use Apple Pay you may shortly be able to make payments across merchants using crypto.
According to Peters:
The soon to launch Tap to Pay feature says it will contain integration for contactless payments from 'Apple Pay, contactless credit and debit cards and other digital wallets'. This directly opens the door to potential crypto asset wallet payments, assuming Apple doesn't deliberately prevent such an option.
Explaining why this could see Bitcoin, Ethereum and other leading digital tokens lift off, Peters said:
The integration has enormous potential implications for crypto. When PayPal added crypto integrations into its infrastructure it sent the market soaring. Apple's infrastructure is no less influential and could put booster rockets under crypto asset prices.
All-time highs
The Bitcoin price and the Ethereum price both notched fresh record highs in November last year.
On 10 November Bitcoin hit US$68,790.
Six days later, on 16 November, Ethereum peaked out at US$4,892.
If Peters is right about Apple, the world's number 1 and number 2 crypto assets could be set for some fresh tailwinds.
