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On Thursday the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) was on form again and stormed notably higher. The benchmark index rose 1% to 6,998.8 points.

Will the market be able to build on this on Friday? Here are five things to watch:

ASX 200 expected to edge lower

The Australian share market looks set to end the week in a subdued fashion. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 5 points or 0.1% lower this morning. This is despite a solid night of trade on Wall Street, which saw the Dow Jones rise 0.2%, the S&P 500 climb 0.4%, and the Nasdaq storm 1% higher.

Oil prices mixed

Energy producers including Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) and Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) will be on watch after a mixed night of trade for oil prices. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is flat at US$59.77 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price is up 0.2% to US$63.30 a barrel. An unexpected surge in US gasoline inventories held back oil prices.

Gold price storms higher

Gold miners Newcrest Mining Ltd (ASX: NCM) and St Barbara Ltd (ASX: SBM) could have a solid day of trade after the gold price stormed higher. According to CNBC, the spot gold price is up 0.9% to US$1,757.40 an ounce. The precious metal climbed close to its one-month high after US bond yields softened.

Tech shares to rise?

It could be a good day for tech shares such as Appen Ltd (ASX: APX) and Xero Limited (ASX: XRO) after their US counterparts on the Nasdaq index raced higher overnight. The tech-focused index outperformed with a 1% gain. This appears to have been driven by a pullback in bond yields.

Dividends being paid

It is pay day for the shareholders of a number of ASX 200 shares on Friday. Among the companies paying dividends are Atlas Arteria Group (ASX: ALX), Link Administration Holdings Ltd (ASX: LNK) Reliance Worldwide Corporation Ltd (ASX: RWC), Spark New Zealand Ltd (ASX: SPK), and WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC).

More reading

• Love tech shares? This ASX ETF is a great buy today
• These oversold ASX tech shares are ripe for the picking
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• Is Canva coming to the ASX?
• Are ASX tech shares like Afterpay (ASX:APT) back to the races?

James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Appen Ltd, Link Administration Holdings Ltd, Reliance Worldwide Limited, WiseTech Global, and Xero. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Link Administration Holdings Ltd and Reliance Worldwide Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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If you’re wanting to construct a balanced portfolio, having a few blue chip ASX shares in there could be a smart move.

But which blue chip ASX 200 shares should you buy? Two that could be in the buy zone are listed below:

Ramsay Health Care Limited (ASX: RHC)

Ramsay Health Care could be a blue chip to buy. It is a leading private healthcare company that provides services via a network of facilities across 10 countries. At the last count, the company was recording over eight million admissions/patient visits per annum to its facilities in over 500 locations.

Trading conditions have been hard for Ramsay over the last 12 months because of the pandemic’s impact on surgeries. However, with its Australian operations operating largely as normal now, this segment looks set to benefit greatly from a backlog in procedures. And given how this side of the business generates around two-thirds of its earnings, this is a very positive thing.

Looking ahead, its international operations shouldn’t be far behind now vaccines are being rolled out. After which, Ramsay looks well-placed to continue its growth over the long term thanks to numerous tailwinds such as ageing populations.

Macquarie currently has an outperform rating and $75.00 price target on its shares.

ResMed Inc. (ASX: RMD)

Another blue chip to look at is this medical device company. Unlike Ramsay, ResMed has been able to continue its strong form in FY 2020 and FY 2021 despite the pandemic.

In respect to the latter, during the second quarter ResMed posted a 9% increase in quarterly revenue to US$800 million and a 17% increase in net profit to US$206.4 million. This was driven by strong demand for respirators and its sleep treatment portfolio.

Positively, due to the enormous sleep disorder market, ResMed has a significant runway for growth over the next decade. Another positive is its digital health ecosystem, which looks well-placed to benefit from the shift to home healthcare. At the end of December, its ecosystem reached over 12 million cloud connectable medical devices.

Morgans is positive on ResMed. It currently has an add rating and $30.09 price target on its shares.

More reading

• Aussie dollar tipped to weaken and this ASX share stands to gain the most
• 3 five-star ASX shares to buy in April
• 5 of the best ASX shares to buy after the Easter break
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: ASX 200 gets its mojo back
• 2 of the best blue chip ASX shares to buy in April

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Ramsay Health Care Limited and ResMed Inc. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) went up by around 1% today to 6,999 points.

However, the ASX 200 did actually surge beyond 7,000 just before midday.

Here are some of the other highlights from the ASX:

Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC)

Westpac was in the news today for two different reasons. On the positive side of things, the Westpac share price went up 1.5%, making it one of the largest contributors to the ASX 200 today.

However, it also made some headlines for the wrong reasons.

The major bank announced that ASIC has started proceedings against the company in relation to the sale of consumer credit insurance (CCI) products to 384 customers.

ASIC’s proceedings relate to allegations that Westpac supplied CCI to certain customers who had not requested or agreed to acquire the product.

Westpac said that ASIC is seeking declarations of contraventions of certain civil penalty provisions and unspecified monetary penalties relating to the period from 7 April 2015 to 28 July 2015.

The bank is carefully considering these claims and is committed to working constructively with ASIC through the court process.

Westpac has not sold CCI products since 2019.

Western Areas Ltd (ASX: WSA)

The Western Areas share price went up around 6% today in reaction to a preliminary March quarter production for the Forrestania operations, and is pleased to report an improvement in both mine and milled physicals.

Western Areas reported that total nickel mined increased 20% quarter on quarter to 4,236 tonnes. The mined ore grade was 3.6%, up 27% quarter on quarter. Nickel produced in concentrate was 4,267 tonnes, up 21% as a result of higher mined grades and mill recoveries.

Dan Lougher, the managing director of Western Areas, said that the March quarter production was a significant improvement quarter on quarter:

As previously flagged to the market, we re-entered the higher-grade areas of the Flying Fox mine this quarter, and saw improved mined nickel grades from Spotted Quoll. This result was setup by the significant development and rehabilitation of existing ore drives achieved during the previous December quarter, which allowed access to and mining of higher grade ore tonnes in the March quarter.

We remain focused on continuing this positive momentum into a strong final quarter for the year, and expect that the development and rehabilitation work already undertaken will contribute to that goal.

Vitalharvest Freehold Trust (ASX: VTH)

The Vitalharvest share price climbed again today after another bid for the agricultural real estate investment trust (REIT).

Roc has decided to increase its offer again to $1.16 per unit, equating to an offer of $329.6 million for the assets.

The Vitalharvest board has determined that the modified Roc offer is superior to the Macquarie Agricultural Funds Management (MAFM) offer and is on terms capable of acceptance.

This offer performs the payment of the 2.5 cent per unit interim distribution for rent received to 31 December 2020.

MAFM has until 5pm on 14 April 2021 to provide a matching or superior further revised offer.

Scentre Group (ASX: SCG)

The Scentre share price went up after the business gave some comments about leadership remuneration as well as giving some distribution guidance at its AGM.

Scentre said that it had an average of 46 million customer visits per month in the last quarter.

The business said that cashflow momentum has continued into 2021 with gross rental cash inflow for the three months to 31 March 2021 being more than $600 million.

Scentre said that it expects to distribute at least 14 cents per security for 2021 and that the distribution will grow in future years.

More reading

• 3 reasons the Westpac (ASX:WBC) share price just hit a 52-week high
• Leading broker names 3 of its best ASX share ideas for April
• Saxo reveals its Australian clients’ top 5 most popular shares
• Aussie dollar tipped to weaken and this ASX share stands to gain the most
• Why the ASX 200 is at a 15-month high today

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) share price has been a surprisingly good performer on the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) of late. As we reported last week, Telstra shares rose 11% over the month of March. That’s a pretty decent move for an old ASX blue chip like Telstra.

Further, the Telstra share price is also having a top day today. At the time of writing, Telstra is up a healthy 1.77% to $3.45 a share. That’s getting tantalisingly close to the company’s 52-week high of $3.54 a share. Year to date, Telstra shares are now up a robust 14%.

So what’s been driving investors to Telstra? A few things have gotten investors hot under the collar in that regard.

Most prominently has been the announced restructure that Telstra unveiled last month. This will result in the company being split up on paper into 4 separate divisions. These four divisions – InfraCo towers, InfraCo Fixed, ServeCo and Telstra International – will all house different aspects of Telstra’s business, all while still coming under the ‘Telstra Group’ umbrella (so no share market spinoffs). Many investors are predicting this move will unlock significant value for the company.

But perhaps the biggest underlying factor outside this restructure is Telstra’s dividend. Telstra has paid out 16 cents per share in annual dividends for a few years now. That 16 cent dividend consists of an ordinary dividend of 10 cents per share and a special dividend of 6 cents per share that is funded by nbn payments.

Despite predictions Telstra would cut this dividend last year, it has managed to hold it steady. And management committed to keeping 16 cents again this year in 2021 a few months ago.

How much is Telstra’s dividend worth today?

Now as we mentioned earlier, the Telstra share price has appreciated significantly in 2021 so far. And rising share prices mean lower starting dividend yields. Even so, Telstra is still an ASX 200 leader when it comes to its yield. On the current share price, 16 cents per share annually equates to a dividend yield of 4.65%. Including Telstra’s full franking credits, which grosses up to 6.64%. That’s a lot better than most ASX 200 shares, including the big four banks, have on offer right now. Not to mention what’s on offer from savings accounts, term deposits and other ‘safer’ cash-based investments.

More reading

• 2 high yield ASX dividend shares to buy today
• 2 high yield ASX dividend shares for income investors to buy
• Brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy right now
• Why the Telstra (ASX:TLS) share price rose 11% in March
• 2 of the best ASX shares to buy for your retirement portfolio

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen owns shares of Telstra Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Telstra Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The two ASX dividend shares in this article are rated as buys by brokers and they offer attractive potential yields.

Just because a business pays a dividend doesn’t mean that it’s automatically worth owning. Some yields can be traps if a dividend cut is incoming.

However, the below two businesses are expected to pay good dividends and potentially see good capital growth over the next 12 months:

Aurizon Holdings Ltd (ASX: AZJ)

Aurizon is Australia’s biggest rail freight operator and it’s also one of the larger companies on the ASX.

Every year, the company’s trains carry hundreds of millions of tonnes of commodities for domestic and international markets.

It’s currently rated as a buy by at least four brokers, including Morgans which has a price target of $4.56 on the ASX dividend share.

At the current Aurizon share price, Morgans thinks that the business will pay a partially franked dividend yield of 7.4%.

In the FY21 half-year result, it saw a 2% decline of revenue to $1.5 billion, a slight decline of underlying earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) and underlying net profit after tax (NPAT), but a 22% drop of statutory NPAT to $267 million and a 18% decline of statutory earnings per share (EPS) to 14.1 cents.

The half-year dividend was grown by 5% to 14.4 cents. The coal price has seen a recovery in recent months, so this may be able to help future earnings.

Super Retail Group Ltd (ASX: SUL)

Super Retail is a large retailer with several businesses including BCF, Macpac, Rebel and Supercheap Auto.

The ASX dividend share is currently liked by at least four brokers at the moment, including Credit Suisse which has a price target for the business of $14.64.

Super Retail generated large profit growth in the first six months of FY21 off the back of strong sales growth. Total group sales went up 23% to $1.78 billion, with online sales growth of 87% to $237.4 million.

Operating leverage was on display with the profit lines growing quickly. The segment EBIT margin went up from 6.4% to 14.4%. This helped underlying NPAT rise by 139% to $177.1 million and statutory NPAT grew by 201% to $172.8 million.

The board of Super Retail decided to pay an interim dividend of 33 cents per share. Credit Suisse is expecting the ASX dividend share to pay a dividend of 64 cents per share, which translates to a grossed-up dividend yield of 7.6%.

In the first seven weeks of the second half of FY21, Super Retail has seen like for like sales growth of 30.5%. Management expect to revert to normal levels of promotional activity in the second half as inventory levels are restored. Expenses are also expected to catch up on projects deferred during COVID-19.

More reading

• 3 ASX dividend shares to buy today
• Leading broker names its best ASX share ideas for April
• 2 quality ASX dividend shares to buy this week
• Retail shares: buy what you know, but who owns what you buy?
• 2 high yield ASX dividend shares for income investors to buy

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Super Retail Group Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Aurizon Holdings Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Liontown Resources Limited (ASX: LTR) share price rose today. The positive price movement comes as the ASX lithium miner gave an update on operations at its Western Australia mining site.

At market close, shares in the company were trading for 45.5 cents each – up 1.11%. By comparison, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) closed up 1.02%.

Let’s take a closer look at Liontown’s update.

Liontown share price up on lithium update

In a statement to the ASX, Liontown says it has identified a number of additional project improvements for its Kathleen Valley Lithium Project in WA.

The improvements in question include an upgrade in the categorisation of minerals, sustaining capital savings, and “simplification of the process flowsheet…”

The company has also conducted a feasibility study at the site. Parts of the study include:

• A review of environmental policies and their application at the site, including impacts on Traditional owners, minimising land and water usage, and lowering its carbon footprint.
• A mineral resource estimate update.
• Geotechnical modelling for improved economic results.
• Process flowsheet enhancements.
• “Detailed” metallurgic test work with a focus on greater ore processes
• Successful hydrological drilling.

So far, the company believes there is a total lithium output of 156 million tonnes at the site, which bodes well for the Liontown share price as the price of lithium continues to increase. As of writing, lithium is trading on the commodities market for a 52-week high of US$90,000 a tonne.

ASX lithium stocks in general have been doing tremendously well over the last year. One such reason is because of the ever-increasing demand for electric vehicles – of which lithium is a core component.

Management commentary

Liontown Managing Director, David Richards, says the progress outlined today will put Kathleen Valley into the forefront of lithium projects.

We are continuing to see excellent progress, with ongoing work reinforcing Kathleen Valley’s attributes as a high-grade, large-scale, long-life lithium project in a Tier-1 location.

Kathleen Valley is ideally placed to be a key player in the global energy transformation, which is gaining momentum as major auto-makers and players in the lithium-ion battery supply chain continue to ramp-up their commitments to help reduce the global carbon footprint.

Liontown share price snapshot

Like other ASX lithium miners, the Liontown share price has gone gangbusters over the last year. If an investor bought in the company 12 months ago today, they would be sitting on a tidy 505.26% return on investment.

On current prices, Liontown Resources has a market capitalisation of $834.5 million.

More reading

• Surge in mining exploration to benefit these small-cap ASX shares: broker

Motley Fool contributor Marc Sidarous has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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Are you looking to add a small cap share or two to your portfolio? If you are, then you might want to consider one of the shares listed below.

Here’s what you need to know about these exciting small cap shares:

Alcidion Group Ltd (ASX: ALC)

The first small cap share to watch is this informatics solutions company. Alcidion provides software which has been designed to improve the efficacy and cost of delivering services to patients and reduce hospital-acquired complications. It looks well-positioned for growth because of the shift to a paperless environment in the healthcare sector. Positively, Alcidion has announced a number of major contract wins this financial year.

IntelliHR Ltd (ASX: IHR)

IntelliHR is a cloud-based human resources technology business that is developing and marketing a next-generation cloud-based people management and data analytics platform. The company notes that its disruptive and advanced technology leverages artificial intelligence, is highly scalable, and industry agnostic. Demand has been growing for its platform, leading to strong annualised recurring revenue growth in FY 2021.

Nitro Software Ltd (ASX: NTO)

Nitro Software is another small cap ASX share to watch. It is a software company that is aiming to drive digital transformation in organisations around the world. Its key solution is the Nitro Productivity Suite. This provides integrated PDF productivity and electronic signature tools to customers through a horizontal, software-as-a-service, and desktop-based software solution. Nitro counts a number of the largest companies in the world as customers.

Volpara Health Technologies Ltd (ASX: VHT)

A final small cap ASX share to watch is Volpara Health Technologies. It is a provider of software that uses artificial intelligence imaging algorithms to assist with the early detection of breast and lung cancer. Volpara has been growing at a rapid rate in recent years thanks to market share gains and its expanding average revenue per user (ARPU) metric. Thanks to acquisitions and its growing product portfolio, the latter metric is expected to rise significantly in the coming years. This could be supportive of further stellar growth over the 2020s.

More reading

• 2 rapidly growing small cap ASX shares to buy
• 3 ASX shares to buy in April 2021
• 2 small cap ASX shares to watch closely
• 2 stellar ASX tech shares to buy in April
• 2 little known small cap ASX shares to buy

James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends VOLPARA FPO NZ. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Alcidion Group Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Alcidion Group Ltd, Nitro Software Limited, and VOLPARA FPO NZ. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Kalamazoo Resources Ltd (ASX: KZR) share price is surging today after the company announced it has started gold drilling in the rural Victorian region of Muckleford.

The Kalamazoo share price has jumped by 7% to 45 cents per share at the time of writing.

Kalamazoo is a gold and copper explorer and developer, which traditionally has focused on exploring and developing gold projects in Western Australia.

However, after success in its Castlemaine gold drilling projects in Victoria, it’s expanded into the Muckleford region.

What Kalamazoo’s drilling update means

In today’s release, Kalamazoo advised that on 1 April, it started general reverse circulation (RC) drilling down to 4,000 metres at 4 prospects in the South Muckleford area. These are located at Fentiman’s Reef, Smith’s Reef and Charcoal Gully. 

The gold miner considers these prospects high priority drill targets. They were recently identified to contain highly prospective epizonal gold-antimony mineralisation which is closely analogous to that of the nearby Fosterville and Costerfield deposits in Central Victoria.

Epizonal systems can develop extremely high-grade, free gold deposits.

Kalamazoo has also completed detailed airborne surveys over the regions it’s now drilling, which it believes will aid the process. It has also been conducting 3D modelling to enhance its planning.

Can regional Victoria provide another gold region?

Kalamazoo believes the South Muckleford project area is vastly under-explored by modern drilling standards. It says it hasn’t been subjected to any systematic modern exploration techniques and only very limited shallow drilling. 

This RC drilling program is part of an extensive exploration work program undertaken by Kalamazoo aimed at advancing the significant potential of this broad epizonal gold-antimony mineralised system.

Kalamazoo believes that the drilling targets are favourably located in the hanging-wall position of the major regional-scale, north-south trending Muckleford Fault.

This is considered a key deep-tapping conduit for gold mineralising fluids and could potentially provide the company with strong free gold drilling results.

Kalamazoo share price snapshot

Kalamazoo spent most its early ASX listing hovering around the 10 cents per share mark until a 40 cent price jump in January 2019. It reached a high of 80 cents in July last year but has since fallen to its current price.

The Kalamazoo share price is down 24% in 2021 so far and 44 cents against the basic materials sector.

More reading

• 4 exciting small cap ASX shares to watch
• Bitcoin’s price is down 8% from February’s highs. Is it time to buy the dip?
• Archer (ASX:AXE) share price retreats despite positive update
• 2 outstanding ASX shares to buy and hold
• 3 reasons the Westpac (ASX:WBC) share price just hit a 52-week high

Motley Fool contributor Lucas Radbourne-Pugh has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) price is down 2.3% over the past 24 hours. One Bitcoin is currently worth US$56,612 (AU$74,489).

Bitcoin is still up 95% so far in 2021 but has now retraced 8% from the US$61,556 it reached on 14 February, according to data from CoinDesk.

Which has crypto enthusiasts and newbies alike wondering, is it time to buy the dip?

Timing your entry

For an answer to that question, we turn to Simon Peters who is a market analyst at eToro. The online trading and brokerage company bought Bitcoin for its own balance sheet. This happened more than 10 years ago when it was worth $5.

Now only the most bearish crypto analysts forecast the Bitcoin price will return to those bargain-basement levels. But the notoriously volatile digital token could certainly go lower from here.

Asked whether ASX investors should wait for a potentially bigger price fall before buying Bitcoin, Peters told the Motley Fool:

Timing the dip of any asset is both risky and difficult, as the price could fall further than the point where you think the bottom is. Ideally, the investor would need to have some knowledge of reading charts and using technical indicators to identify the bottom, or very close to the bottom of a dip or retracement.

Long-term investors, those planning to buy and hold, may find it easier to dollar cost average. Buying with a fixed amount each week or month, for example, regardless of what the price is. This strategy may not yield the highest returns versus buying at the bottom of a dip, it removes the complication of trying to time the market.

Can Bitcoin shine amid renewed inflation concerns?

Crack open the financial news and you’ll almost certainly run across several articles highlighting the potential risks of resurgent inflation to share markets.

You’ll likely also find at least 1 article from a prominent central banker attempting to allay those fears.

We don’t have a crystal ball. But the broad consensus is that whether inflation begins to impact interest rates and share markets this year or next, we can expect the erosion in the value of our fiat currencies to return.

But how about cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin? Can Bitcoin serve as an effective inflation hedge?

Here’s what eToro’s Peters told us:

Bitcoin has fulfilled the criteria of an inflation hedge, which is an asset that protects against the decreasing purchasing power of a domestic currency. More people are viewing it as such. This first happened with individual investors. Now we are starting to see corporations hold Bitcoin in their treasuries as an inflation hedge instead of cash.

Peters said he expects more investors will turn to Bitcoin as an inflation hedge. Especially if global governments and central banks continue their easy monetary and fiscal policy measures. That in turn, he said, should see the Bitcoin price keep rising.

What could send the price lower?

With the Bitcoin price up 670% in the past 12 months, and more institutions lending their support for the crypto asset, what tailwinds could drag Bitcoin lower?

According to Peters, there are a number of risk factors Bitcoin investors or speculators should be aware of:

Firstly, we could see government or regulatory intervention, making it harder or illegal to transact, hold, or mine Bitcoin.

Secondly, a flaw or vulnerability in the underlying blockchain could get exploited. For example, a 51% attack where miners collude to control the majority of hash rate on the network. Whilst this is very difficult to execute, it is not theoretically impossible.

Lastly, we could see price manipulation. Bitcoin is arguably not as liquid as other assets like stocks, meaning significant orders (sometimes referred to as whales) can severely affect its price.

He noted that any of these issues could see investors lose confidence in the world’s biggest crypto and send the price lower.

The case for holding Bitcoin

Peters reminded us that it’s been just over a year, 11 March 2020, since Black Thursday. That was the day a technical failure on the Bitcoin Mercantile Exchange (Bitmex) saw futures crash more than 50%. And the Bitcoin price crashed below US$4,000.

Since then, he told the Motley Fool, Bitcoin has gone “from strength to strength”.

The case for holding bitcoin has increased over the period, with institutional investors now holding the crypto asset, as they look to alternatives to fiat currencies. With big corporations also lending their support, the future has never looked brighter for crypto assets.

Tesla’s decision to both accept payment for its cars in bitcoin and hold that bitcoin on its balance sheet rather than convert it to dollars will likely build more momentum for the crypto asset.

Tesla and other companies are showing that crypto is here to stay, and its mainstream adoption is only going to increase.

With a finite supply of Bitcoin, Peters said increased institutional interest in the digital token could cause a supply-side squeeze and see prices continue to rise longer-term.

More reading

• How Westpac (ASX:WBC) is set to cash in on Bitcoin
• Will China’s great emissions wall crash the Bitcoin price?
• 3 reasons Bitcoin could double your money (and more)
• Bitcoin price mania spreads as Ether price hits record highs
• What’s driving the Bitcoin price back towards new record highs?

Bernd Struben has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends Bitcoin. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Archer Materials Ltd (ASX: AXE) share price has retreated in late-afternoon trade after soaring as high as 93.5 cents. This comes after the company announced that it has begun to progress on the pathway for sub-10 nanometre biochip fabrication.

At the time of writing, the advanced material company’s shares are fetching 90 cents apiece, flat for the day.

Development plans

Archer shares were trading on a high earlier on but have since fallen back to yesterday’s market close.

According to its release, Archer advised it has commenced development to produce biochip components that are under 10 nanometres (nm) in size. In comparison, a human hair is around 75 microns or 75,000 nm.

Archer noted that miniaturisation to below 10 nm is a key requirement for the operation and end-use of its biochip. Anything less than 10nm is considered as best-in-class across the semiconductor industry.

The company explained that if successful in creating prototype biochip devices, it would remove significant barriers to entry. This includes pattern design and process optimisation, for on-chip fabrication of biosensor components.

What did the CEO say?

Archer CEO, Dr Mohammad Choucair touched on the company’s nanofabrication development, saying:

Archer has progressed to one of the most advanced forms of nanofabrication after recently translating biosensor components onto silicon wafers. We are expanding on this strength with in-house capability to build a robust biochip IP portfolio. This is key to Archer’s long-term growth, and near-term speed of execution in its deep tech development.

Best-in-class capabilities in nanofabrication is a global competitive advantage in the multibillion-dollar point of care medical diagnostics industry. One of the reasons why there are few companies in the world developing and commercialising biochips is because it’s difficult to achieve precision engineering at the nano scale.

Archer share price summary

Over the past year, the Archer share price has accelerated over 400%, with 75% of those gains coming from year-to-date. The company’s shares reached an all-time high of $1.24 in late February on the back of achieving a technological breakthrough.

More reading

• Up 673% in 1 year, why the Archer Materials (ASX:AXE) share price is lifting again today

Motley Fool contributor Aaron Teboneras has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

The post Archer (ASX:AXE) share price falls flat despite positive update appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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