Is Bitcoin dying? Not so fast, Researchers refute predictions of Crypto Market Demise

Each time the cryptocurrency market crashes, social media is filled with predictions of BTC slipping to zero and plenty of people saying “I told you so.” 2018’s bear market has caused many to flee from the cryptocurrency space and emboldened people like economist Nouriel Roubini who has been a harsh critic of Bitcoin and altcoins for years.

He’s called Bitcoin the mother of all scams, has referred to the cryptocurrency market as a “sinking cesspool” and just last week he tweeted that The sector is on its last legs. “If it all sounds funereal it is because Bitcoin and all other crypto-currencies are on the way a funeral march!”

Even some known Bitcoin and cryptocurrency advocates have recently made some remarks that could be taken in a negative light. In the last few weeks, Bitcoin bull and billionaire investor Mike Novogratz said that the ICO market was dead and the young crypto millionaire Erik Finman said the digital asset was in trouble.

Despite all the doom and gloom that has resulted from this extended bear market, researchers from the University of Cambridge who took part in the second Global Cryptoasset Benchmarking Study have some positive news regarding the future price of Bitcoin and the overall health of the cryptocurrency market.

They think that cryptocurrency is here to stay and that there are too many planned developments for the market to fall apart now.

“Statements proclaiming the death of the crypto-asset industry have been made after every global ecosystem bubble,” the researchers stated. “While it is true that the 2017 bubble was the largest in bitcoin’s history, the market capitalization of both bitcoin and the crypto-asset ecosystem still exceeds its January 2017 levels–prior to the start of the bubble.”

The study found that the burst bubble might have caused a delay in the development of many projects, but the industry has pushed forward and many projects may make breakthroughs sooner rather than later. “The speculation of the death of the market and ecosystem has been greatly exaggerated, and so it seems likely that the future expansion plans of industry participants will, at most, be delayed.”

As the community awaits institutional powerhouses like Goldman Sachs to enter the scene and projects like Bakkt to cause a flood of billions to rush into the crypto space, many teams continue to work on the useful applications that will actually usher in adoption and bring cryptocurrency to the masses.

By Stephen Brown – December 15, 2018

Alan Zibluk Markethive Founding Member

Bitcoin (BTC) Daily Price Forecast – December 12

BTC/USD Medium-term Trend: Bearish

Resistance Levels: $6,800, $6,900, $7,000

Support levels: $3,300, $3,200, $3,100

Yesterday, December 11, the price of Bitcoin was in a bearish trend. In the last 48 hours, the price of Bitcoin had been in the bearish trend zone. The crypto's price had been fluctuating above the $3,400 price level. It was suggested that if the bears broke the $3,400 price level, the crypto will resume the downtrend and price is expected to test the $3,000 price level.

Today, the crypto's price is below the EMAs and price is fluctuating above the $3,400 price level. Meanwhile, the MACD line and the signal line are below the zero line which indicates a sell signal. Also, the BTC price is below the 12-day EMA and the 26-day EMA which indicates that price is likely to fall.

BTC/USD Short-term Trend: Bearish

On the 1-hour chart, the price of Bitcoin is in a bearish trend. In the bearish trend of yesterday, the crypto’s price fell to the low of $3,413.3 and commenced a bullish movement on the upside. The bulls broke the 12-day EMA but were resisted by the 26-day EMA and price fell back to the bearish trend zone.

Meanwhile, the price of Bitcoin is below the 12-day EMA and the 26-day EMA which indicates that price is likely to fall. The Relative Strength Index period 14 is level 37 which indicates that price is nearing the oversold region.

By Azeez M – December 12, 2018

Alan Zibluk Markethive Founding Member

Bitcoin price weekly analysis – 11.12.2018

Bitcoin price continued on plummeting throughout last week’s trading sessions, recording a week low of $3,277 last Friday. However, after the week low was recorded, the market began recovering slightly and the bulls managed to push bitcoin price above $3,600 on Sunday. Despite the 14% drop we witnessed last week, the market’s bears failed to pull bitcoin price below $3,192, which represents a critical support level, as per the current market conditions. If bitcoin price continues on recovering during the upcoming week, it won’t face significant resistance except near $4,282, which corresponds to the 76.4% Fibonacci retracement level.

Bitcoin price and the news:

In another disappointing week for cryptocurrency enthusiasts, the price of bitcoin continued on dropping to record a new low during 2018. As such, bitcoin price lost more than 50% of its market capital in less than a month. The bearish wave also affected Ripple (XRP), Stellar (XLM), Ethereum (ETH), EOS, Litecoin (LTC), and Bitcoin Cash (BCH), which witnessed 10-20% price drops during last week’s trading sessions.

Last week, the SEC announced that they are to postpone the ruling of Bitcoin’s ETF until late February. This did not help boost the confidence of crypto investors who seem to be reaching a point of capitulation.

The Bitcoin Network overall hash rate continued on dropping throughout the previous week. Bitcoin’s hash rate has been dropping since the beginning of November, even though it has been steadily rising all through 2018, recording historical highs last August. The reasons behind this decline include:

– Shutting down of mining operations by the Chinese government

– Hash power of mining facilities being redirected away from bitcoin to mine other cryptocurrencies

– Decline of mining profitability forced a considerable percentage of miners to cease mining operations entirely.

Red Ichimoku Cloud on the 1 day BTCUSD chart:

Let’s examine the 1 day BTCUSD chart from Bitfinex, while plotting the Ichimoku Cloud, the Williams Alligator’s SMAs, and the MACD indicator, as shown on the below chart. We can note the following:

– To identify key resistance and support levels as per the current market, we will plot Fibonacci retracements extending between a low of $3,192 and a high of $7,758. Last week, bitcoin price dropped significantly, after the market’s bears managed to breach the support level around $4,282, which corresponds to the 76.4% Fibonacci retracement. Now, the next significant support level lies around $3,192. Last week, bitcoin price began recovering after a low of $3,277 was recorded, which is around $90 higher than the critical support level around $3,192. On the upside, the market’s bulls will face significant resistance around $4,282 (previous support turns into resistance).

– The Ichimoku Cloud is exhibiting multiple bearish signals, which denotes that bitcoin price is most likely to continue on dropping during the upcoming week. The Ichimoku Cloud is red. Bitcoin price is way below the cloud (bearish signal). Also, the Conversion Line (blue line) has crossed below the Base Line (red line), which represents another bearish signal.

– The Williams Alligator’s SMAs are exhibiting a bearish alignment, as the teeth (red SMA) is between the jaw (blue SMA) from above, and the lips (green SMA) from below.

– The MACD indicator is in the negative territory, yet the blue MACD line has crossed above the red signal line.

Bullish reversal signs on the 4 hour BTCUSD chart:

Now, let’s examine the 4 hour BTCUSD chart from Bitfinex, while plotting the Williams Alligator’s SMAs and MACD indicator. We will also keep the Fibonacci retracements we extended on the 1 day chart, as shown on the below chart. We can note the following:

– Right after the week low was recorded, a “bullish engulfing” candlestick pattern was formed on the chart (the pair of candlesticks highlighted by an ellipse on the above chart). This candlestick pattern serves as a bullish reversal signal denoting that bitcoin price can recover and attempt rising towards $4,282 during the upcoming week.

– Even though the Williams Alligator’s SMAs have been exhibiting a bearish alignment since the beginning of December, this alignment began to change on Sunday to form a bullish alignment. This serves as a bullish reversal signal that denotes that the bears are losing their market grip.

– The MACD is bullish. The MACD blue line has crossed above the signal red line and both are sloping in an upwards direction, which represent another bullish reversal signal.
 

Conclusion:

Bitcoin price continued on dropping during last week’s trading sessions. Even though the 1 day BTCUSD charts are still exhibiting multiple bearish indicators, analysis of the 4 hour BTCUSD charts shows multiple bullish reversal signals that indicate that bitcoin price is likely to recover during the upcoming week.

POSTED BY: TAMER SAMEEH DECEMBER 11, 2018

Alan Zibluk Markethive Founding Member

Bitcoin Price Recovers 12% in 72 Hours While Traders Remain Cautious in Short-Term

ince December 8, the Bitcoin price has increased from $3,210 to $3,588, by just about 12 percent against the U.S. dollar.

In the same time frame, the cryptocurrency market added $11 billion to its valuation, avoiding a further drop below the $100 billion mark, which could have been critical for the short-term trend of the market.

Most major cryptocurrencies including Ethereum (ETH) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH) have been able to rebound from low double digits, as technical indicators started to demonstrate extremely oversold conditions.

But, traders and technical analysts remain cautious towards the short-term price trend of cryptocurrencies until major resistance levels are broken.

$3,700 For Bitcoin

Since early December, the value of Bitcoin has continuously fallen from the mid-$4,000 region, struggling to maintain its momentum and show any sign of stability.

According to DonAlt, a prominent cryptocurrency technical analyst, until Bitcoin breaks out of the $3,700 resistance level, it will remain in a tight range between $3,300 to $3,600, unable to engage in a major price movement.

The analyst said:

“Another good day for BTC. That said it’s still nowhere close to turning bullish on the higher time frames. While the low timeframes look decent, BTC hasn’t even reclaimed the previous trading range. Until it does, no swing long trades.”

As Alex Krüger, an economist and a cryptocurrency trader, recently emphasized, BTC is in a significantly better position to enter an accumulation phase and a consolidation period because it has been able to minimize its loss during several steep market sell-offs.

When compared to both Ethereum and Bitcoin Cash, Bitcoin has kept its value fairly well given the intensity of the market crash throughout the past two months.

ETH and BCH have recorded 93 percent and 95 percent losses respectively against the U.S. dollar, and BTC would have to drop another 72 percent from the current price range to experience a similar drop as the two digital assets.

“Performance from all-time-highs to date, for the main cryptoassets: BTC -82%, XRP -86%, ETH -93%, BCH -95% (using Bitfinex’s data). These may all look equally bad. It is not so. The difference between -82% and -95% is a further 72% drop,” Krüger explained.

Market Still Nervous

Several analysts have reaffirmed that as long as the dominant cryptocurrency remains below $3,700 and struggles to demonstrate a major breakout, the market is at risk of dropping to a new yearly low.

Historically, the cryptocurrency market has taken around 67 weeks on average to recover from a large correction and achieve a new all-time high.

While positive developments like the Nasdaq, Bakkt, and NYSE futures markets are around the corner and are expected to launch in the first quarter of 2019, it could easily take until the second quarter of next year for the cryptocurrency market to begin its recovery.

A proper bottom has not been established by BTC and other major cryptocurrencies, as well as small market cap ERC20 tokens, have not shown any signs of a large corrective rally.

Featured Image from Shutterstock. Charts from TradingView.

POSTED IN: BITCOIN PRICE NEWS, NEWS

AUTHOR

Joseph Young

Alan Zibluk Markethive Founding Member

Bitcoin to rise to $333,333, following a $2,500 imminent bottom: Bobby Lee

Bobby Lee, the co-founder of the Hong-Kong based cryptocurrency exchange BTCC and a board member of the Bitcoin Foundation, has predicted that Bitcoin [BTC] could skyrocket to $333,333, after it plummets to a bottom of $2,500.

Lee expects the bears to continue to torment the cryptocurrency market, leading to a fall of 27.4 percent against the current BTC price, dropping down to $2,500 by January 2019, its lowest point since July 2017.

He further stated that the next upswing would begin in late 2020, achieving an unprecedented high of $333,333 by December 2021 following another market crash to $41,000 by January 2023.

If history repeats perfectly, then the current bear market for #Bitcoin would bottom out at $2,500 next month, in Jan 2019.

And then the next rally would start in late 2020, peak out in Dec 2021 at $333,000, and then crash back down to $41,000 in Jan 2023.

Something like that????? https://t.co/M8ljIVnt73

— Bobby Lee (@bobbyclee) December 7, 2018

Basing his chronological prediction on the market trends, as far back as December 2013, when Bitcoin reached an all-time high of close to $1,200, before settling back down to under $300 by 2015. As Bitcoin approached 2017, the top crypto held well over 80 percent of the entire virtual currency market.

Investors began to notice the dominance of cryptocurrency in early 2017, when the coin’s price broke the $1,000 mark in January and the $3,000 in the next eight months, following which it soared to as high as $19,000 during the infamous December 2017 bull-run.

On a year-to-year basis, Bitcoin has dropped by 82.57 percent from its highest valuation of $19,783 in December to its current price of $3,447. The cryptocurrency markets, which has a 54 percent Bitcoin stake currently, has felt the brunt of the Bitcoin collapse, falling by over $100 billion in a month since the beginning of November.

Crypto-proponents were gunning for a December 2018 bull run mimicking the previous year, but were taken aback by the November meltdown, triggered by Bitcoin Cash. Mike Novogratz of Galaxy Investment Partners predicted a rally at the end of 2018, pushing Bitcoin up to $8,700. At press time, the coin has fallen by 60.3 percent from the aforementioned prediction to the current price $3,447.

Tom Lee, the head of research at Fundstrat Global Advisors in mid-November during the peak of the crash, affirmed his earlier prediction that Bitcoin would reach $15,000 by the year’s end. Lee pegged his hopes on investors viewing the virtual currency, not as a “commodity,” but as an “emerging asset class.”

By aakash

Dec 08?2018 11:17 AM

Alan Zibluk Markethive Founding Member

Bitcoin Price Analysis – BTC/USD Another Day, Another Breakdown

Bitcoin previously consolidated inside a symmetrical triangle to pause from its selloff, but it looks like bears are still in control. Price broke below the triangle bottom at $4,000 major psychological level to signal that another slide is in the works.

The 100 SMA is starting to cross below the longer-term 200 SMA as additional confirmation of bearish pressure. However, RSI seems ready to climb out of the oversold region to indicate that buyers might take over while sellers take a break. Similarly stochastic is moving north so bitcoin could follow suit.

Bitcoin is also trending inside a small descending channel and is bouncing off the bottom. A pull back to the top might be due before sellers return again. This lines up with the broken triangle support that might now hold as resistance and also the moving averages dynamic inflection points.

Bitcoin has given way to FUD once more as last week’s updates didn’t seem enough to sustain any recoveries. As it is, more and more media outlets continue to cover the bloodbath and are likely convincing more holders to liquidate. Recall that revived focus on institutional investments allowed bitcoin to pause from its sell off and many hoped that it could be followed by an even larger bounce.

Traders might have been able to digest the latest SEC commentary on how the lack of consumer protection measures in the crypto market means that they’re not likely to approve any bitcoin ETF applications anytime soon. This puts the industry a huge step back as it would mean other altcoins would have to wait much longer.

Bulls are also likely holding out for bigger developments instead of mere speculations. For now, it looks like the slide could carry on until actual evidence of a pickup in volumes from institutional investors early next year are seen.

SARA JENN · DECEMBER 4, 2018 · 12:30 AM

Alan Zibluk Markethive Founding Member

Bitcoin bulls ask, where's the bottom?

• Bitcoin lost 37 pct in the month of Nov.

• The bottom not yet in sight as bulls scramble for stability.

Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalisation and the coin that gave blockchain to the world, has lost 37 percent of its value in the month of November, has still not been able to find a stable bottom, as the prices fell back again after rallying back above $4,000 during the week.

BTC/USD is down nearly one percent on day at $3,942, but trading in less than 0.3 percent range for the day, thanks to lower volumes and resulting in lower volatility for the crypto whose second cousin is volatility.

A quick look at various time-frames of the chart reveals us that although volatility has come down a but after November sell-off, by no means a long term meaninful bottom has been placed yet. BTC may well touch and even break recent lows and head towards $3,000 as mentioned last week. (Read here) Even as experts such as Morgan Creek Capital Management's CEO, Mark Yusko, believe that there is long term value for the largest coin and bottom should be somewhere around the corner.

BTC/USD daily chart:

Manoj B Rawal

FXStreet

Alan Zibluk Markethive Founding Member

Bitcoin Prices Soar -Nasdaq to Launch Bitcoin Futures in Q1 2019

Investing.com – Bitcoin and other major digital coins’ prices all traded higher on Thursday in Asia on news that Nasdaq is set to introduce Bitcoin futures in the first quarter of next year. ?

Bitcoin jumped 6.55% to $4,187.5 by 09:31 PM ET (02:31?GMT) on the?Investing.com index.?Ethereum added 4.49% to $118.77 and XRP gained 2.48% to $0.37633?on the?Poloniex?exchange.???

1337/LTC?also advanced?8.68% to $33.550?on the?Bitifinex?exchange.?

Bitcoin regained a bit of momentum following a second low this week. The most traded digital coin dropped below $3,800 in mid-week before bouncing to this week’s peak at $4,395 on early Thursday morning.

However, Bitcoin remains trading 30% less of its value since mid-November, when the digital coin dropped from above $6,500.

On Thursday, media reported that Nasdaq is set to launch bitcoin futures in the first quarter of 2019 despite the current bearish sentiment for cryptocurrencies.

Bitcoin futures will provide investors with a centralized marketplace where participants can speculate on the future price movements of Bitcoin.

Nasdaq has reportedly been working closely with the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to secure regulatory approval for its proposed Bitcoin futures launch together with investment management firm VanEck.

Gabor Gurbacs, VanEck's director of digital asset strategy, said the firm "ran a few extra miles working with the CFTC to bring about new standards for custody and surveillance."

Nasdaq is not the first one to enter the digital currency space. The CFTC has so far approved two crypto futures products. One is from the Chicago Board Options Exchange and another from the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

Nasdaq showed interest in tapping into the crpyto space earlier. In April, its CEO Adena Friedman told media that “certainly Nasdaq would consider becoming a crypto exchange over time.”

Alan Zibluk Markethive Founding Member

Bitcoin (BTC) Bulls Are Back in the Game!

Bitcoin could be due for a reversal from its slide as it just broke past the top of a descending channel.

Bitcoin was previously trending lower inside a descending channel but has just broken past the resistance to indicate that a reversal is due. Price has also closed above the 100 SMA dynamic inflection point as an additional bullish signal.

However, the 100 SMA is still below the longer-term 200 SMA to indicate that the path of least resistance is to the downside. In other words, the downtrend is more likely to resume than to reverse. Price has yet to test the 200 SMA dynamic inflection point which might also lead to some bearish pressure.

RSI has also reached the overbought zone to indicate that buyers are starting to feel exhausted. Similarly stochastic is in the overbought area to signal that buyers might want to take a break. Turning lower could confirm that sellers are about to take over, possibly pushing bitcoin back inside the channel and onto the lows.

Still, it’s also worth pointing out that both oscillators are pointing up for now and have yet to show any inclination to head south. This suggests that bulls could keep charging.

Also, bitcoin is forming a double bottom pattern with the latest move and could be due to test the neckline at $4,200. A break beyond this could spur a rally that’s the same height as the chart pattern, which is around $400. Increased bullish momentum could lead to technical breaks of the next areas of interest, that might draw even more buyers in.

Indications that institutions are pushing ahead with crypto investments despite the recent bear market are making it to the newswires. Confirmation from a few key figures in the industry also led to the improvement in sentiment that is likely driving the recent moves.

Rachel Lee by Rachel Lee November 28, 2018

Alan Zibluk Markethive Founding Member

Bitcoin Price Prediction- BTC Value by the Year 2020

Currently, everyone within the crypto space is wondering what the future of Bitcoin holds for its investors in 2020 and beyond. The cryptocurrency market is widely known for its price volatility which can shoot to incredible highs or lows in a short period.

While this may be great for Bitcoin traders who depend on a buy-low-sell-high method of investment, it makes these digital assets a poor means of value storage. It also gives long-term investors a tough time since they have to continuously track this volatility to ensure the safety of their investments. When the price changes sporadically, it can become difficult to do so.

Despite how unpredictable this volatility makes the future of cryptocurrency seem, it has not stopped industry figures from predicting the possible future of virtual assets, especially Bitcoin. Although most of the predictions stem from mere speculation within the cryptosphere, a good number of them are derived from complex quantitative methods. From research and modeling to creating special indexes, experts are working hard to prove that Bitcoin is here to stay. Predictions for 2020 vary widely, ranging from $20,000 to $1 million.

What is Bitcoin?

Bitcoin was the first cryptocurrency in existence and paved the way for the development of others. Cryptocurrencies like Litecoin were created by directly copying the original Bitcoin source code. It was created in 2009 by an anonymous developer under the pseudonym of “Satoshi Nakamoto” and has functioned as a store of value and an investment vehicle since then.

As a store of value, Bitcoin allows its users to send and receive funds without the need for an intermediary or central authority. The system is fully decentralized, leaving consensus in the hands of its network users. As an investment vehicle, Bitcoin has produced many millionaires, including the Winklevoss twins.

Early investors who bought into the cryptocurrency when its tokens were cheap rose to millionaire status when its price became worth thousands of dollars. Most of all, billionaires were made in December 2017 when Bitcoin soared to a record high of $20,000. Since then, the currency has underperformed in a series of bear runs, marking a market correction far worse than anticipated.

Another factor that makes the future of Bitcoin seem unpredictable is the fact that its usage has not increased by a substantial amount in 2018, implying stagnation. In truth, mass adoption is not occurring as quickly as the crypto industry would like to believe.

Apart from current adoption rates, there are several other factors to consider when analyzing the future value of a cryptocurrency. These include real-world events.

• Technological improvements and modifications to a network such as a hard fork or software upgrade

• The solidity and clarity of a platform’s future roadmap objectives

• Announcements of new partnerships or sponsorship deals

• New patents and discoveries by crypto research and development firms

• A new exchange listing

• New regulations

It is important to research all of the above factors rather than follow predictions blindly. Investors must also research predictions, looking at the specific reasons for each and ruling out any based on guesswork.

A Few Bitcoin Price Predictions for 2020 From Prominent Industry Figures

John McAfee

He is the creator of popular antivirus software, McAfee antivirus, and a well-known presence in the cryptocurrency industry because of his outlandish price predictions and interesting background. McAfee, who makes a lot of money from ICO promotion, has revealed that cryptocurrency projects are willing to pay him more than $100,000 to make his predictions.

In 2017 he predicted that Bitcoin would reach $500,000 in 2020, a price which he upped to $1 million recently. According to McAfee, his prediction is based on a price model he created, which also predicted that Bitcoin would hit $5,000 by the end of 2017 – a feat that seemed unbelievable at the time. If McAfee’s model is accurate, his prediction puts total market capitalization at $15 trillion. This would mean a 4,900% increase from Bitcoin’s peak of $20,000.

Recently, he predicted that Bitcoin will hit $15,000 in June 2018 despite the cryptocurrency’s poor performance in the previous month. That prediction failed, emphasizing the fact that not all of McAfee’s predictions come true and users must take all predictions with a grain of salt.

McAfee, a major Bitcoin bull, is seemingly unfazed by criticism claiming his predictions defy the mathematical behavior of the market. However, McAfee continues to support Bitcoin.

Tom Lee

Thomas Lee, co-founder and head of research at Fundstrat Global Advisors, a popular cryptocurrency research firm, predicted that Bitcoin could reach $25,000 by the end of the year. [Editor’s note: He later revised that prediction to $15,000.]

Mostly known for his Bitcoin price discussions on live TV and the creation of a misery index for monitoring the price of Bitcoin, Tom Lee is definitely a respected industry figure. He also made another prediction placing the price of BTC at $91,000, through a chart analysis of Bitcoin historical price movements.

Osato Avan-Nomayo

Bitcoinist analyst Osato Avan-Nomayo predicted that the Bitcoin mining reward will be halved from 12.5 BTC to 6.25 BTC by 2020. The Bitcoin mining reward has only been halved twice since the currency first emerged.

In 2012 it halved from 50 BTC to 25 BTC, and in 2016 it went from 25 BTC to 12.5 BTC. When both events happened, Bitcoin saw higher prices shortly thereafter. Although Bitcoinist did not predict a specific price for BTC, their analysis predicts new price peaks up to $20,000.

Fran Strajnar

CEO of Brave New Coin, Fran Strajnar has predicted a Bitcoin price of $200,000 by 2020 as a result of increasing adoption rates. According to Strajnar, as more users join the network, more wallets and apps are being created and used. He expects that as usage increases, so will the price of BTC in the long run.

Alan Zibluk Markethive Founding Member