The end of 2017 hailed a meteoric rise of Bitcoin and all the cryptocurrencies that are somewhat "pegged" to it's value. But 2018 ushered in a downfall from the heavenly position it managed to reach high up to.
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First first quarter of 2018 put pressure on Bitcoin and all cryptocurrencies, with a 50% drop since the beginning of the year. Other coins saw a 90% drop at the same time from their all-time high positions in the charts.
The pressure has been speculated to be coming from the Mt. Gox sell off, but there were also other factors attributed to the decline. Tax measures and bans on cryptos or their ICOs where being talked about as regulation seemed to be creeping in. Fear, uncertainty and doubt (FUD) gripped the minds of many would-be investors who dropped coins in an attempt to get a profit or cut their losses rather than hold onto the crypto they had.
But the fear of outright bans are likely going to be mitigated by regulations and more government investment into blockchain technology. Venezuela and Cambodia started up nationalized cryptocurrencies in March 2018. Cryptocurrencies are being legitimized, but that means pressure for taxes and regulations will likely ensue in 2018.
But with the increased use in the mainstream, and more regulation, more people will feel cryptos are a safer investment to get into,meaning more people will be attracted to get into the crypto-sphere. Blockchains are getting more cost-effective with better transactions speeds and reduced fees, making complaints go down for those getting in and using cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin itself is set to see some improvements that will make it more pleasant to use to transfer from wallet to wallet.
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Fiat currencies around the world are getting a bad rap by comparison, as many national currencies are flopping. Venezuela created a cryptocurrency as an attempt to get out of it's currency crisis. The USA itself has a huge debt looming over it's books. The global economy has seen many bubbles pop, with the most recent in 2008. And it's not over, as the huge trillions of dollars bubble of the gambling derivatives market has not been dealt with.
From April to June 2016, Bitcoin rose over 80% to near $800 in value. Another bull run happened the next year from April to June 2017 with a 170% increase to the then all-time high of $3000/BTC. This year could be the same, says Naeem Aslam, contributing writer for forbes.com. It;s no guarantee, but it could happen. But Aslam doesn't think the bear market is over yet, noting the "death cross" 50-day moving average crossing below the 200-day moving average.
Supply is greater than demand, and until this changes, the bear run will continue. Aslam sees a drop down to $4000 for support and a possible big bounce up as people rush in to buy low, which -- in his eyes -- could sky-rocket Bitcoin to $35,000 by late Q3 or the end of 2018.
The beginning of April is showing a bump in the value of Bitcoin. It may be headed on up again for another bull run, but this might also be a temporary pop in the continued fizzle downwards to a steady floor of support for a little longer.
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Blockchains and cryptocurrencies are relatively new in the world. We are on the cusp of the downturn of FUD disillusionment before the upturn, after the great-fall of the first-time hype and inflated expectations. The trustless nature of blockchain technology will likely change many aspects of our lives and how we govern ourselves. It's an exciting time. Will 2018 be "the" year for Bitcoin? We shall see...
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I wouldn’t be surprised if it went much much higher. It can go up very fast and it doesn’t take as much money as people think to push the price up
Yep, that is the thing people don't understand. It doesn't take much capital inflow in the market to produce significant rises across the board. That is why I am extremely bullish as institutional money is in the hundreds of billions, one can only imagine the multiplier effect that will have on the market.
Yes and for some reason people have a hard time understanding but there’s only a small fraction of the total supply for sale on exchanges!
Very good point actually.
In time it will likely happen, we are early on ;)
I'm bankin on a huge bull run in the second half of the year
many experts say that by the end of this year the bitcoin would be about 50 thousand dollars, with respect to the Venezuelan currency, the petro was already launched and we Venezuelans can buy "petro" with local currency, but in reality invest in petro no It attracts my attention because the "petro" is guaranteed with the "petroleo" of venezuela, diamond and gas of venezuela, one of the reasons why I would not like to invest in the petro is because of the economic blockade that my country has "venezuela " I will wait a good time to invest in petro
Hehe, yeah national cryptos are new and I don't trust them much either... they have the control on it and can manipulate it possibly... :/
If here in Venezuela the experts in economics do not look with good eyes to the petro. It is not the cryptocurrency that is the cause, it is because of the bad administration of the Venezuelan government.
I can see where it could, or more. The one part that remains a mystery to me (because of my ignorance) is the futures market impact. The little I have read on this lately makes me feel like they are bad for crypto.
I read an article the other day that was discussing how gold futures have kept the price depressed, and they were speculating Bitcoin futures may be manipulated the same way. I don't understand it enough to know, and not sure what the answer would be to disentangle from the futures.
All markets are a big money-game. It's all a bunch of number magic to where people can manipulate things get rich while making others poor. We live with a lot of fictional things in our world...
Relly great piece! I just got invested in crypto around a month or so... so it was still in a good dip although it's dropped since... I plan to just forget about it and leave it there for a year or two... see where I'm at then!
I am sure the general trend is up... despite all the volatility in between!
Really valuable piece and thanks for re-assuring me that I'd made a good investment - it was at the end of a 13 month traveling trip and it was the last of my cash ha... But I think I put it in a good place!
Thanks you for this post... good start to my day... as you quite rightly say...
It's an exciting to be alive
:)
With Love
Hart Floe Poet
♥
Indeed it is, I hope things work out for you ;)
That's almost twice the ATH of bitcoin... it would be awesome if it really ended up happening.
If this become true steem will surely surpass 10$
I'll eat my.... if it's not over 35k by the end of the year~
Mcafee is that you?
Yup they all rise and fall with BTC ;)
Thanks for bringing info like this to your blog, and for summarizing things. I don't do much reading about crypto, so enjoy getting little snapshots of what's going on.
Yeah me neither, but sometimes I poke around to see whats up...
It is kind of like a ball under water. They can use the futures market to manipulate the price but what goes down has to go back up. So too the ball as it splashes in the water. So to one day silver and gold. Manipulation cannot work forever. Thanks @krnel.
Maybe not forever, butffor a long time...
Thanks for the share! I always like critical realistic analysis. Especially bullish.. :D
You're welcome ;)
This is good news for us. May it continue to grow in a better direction.
Thank you.
Thanks for the share! I always like critical realistic analysis. Especially bullish.. :D
That would be a victory
Wouldn't that be awesome?
I heard of the article before. The fact that price of fiat currencies comes from very similar source as for cryptocurrencies makes me think, that crypto can be future. I invested and I wait.
Interesting conclusions! But, in view of this, I would like to wish Steem to overtake today's leader))