Now here's a rather unusual theory: most of the weak hands have already withdrawn from the game by the end of January, the Chinese have taken their new year party money long time ago and had only caused the early stage of the dip, and the media FUD cannot do any more harm. Maybe that we've reached a level where only the HODLers have remained in the game, waiting for the planets to once again align for nice profits. After all, cryptocurrencies are mostly a long-term speculative investment.
But what if this crash is actually caused by Bitconnect and ICO scammers? It makes perfect sense since they had been holding onto large amounts of coins which misinformed, greedy, and/or foolish people gladly handed for tokens which proved to be worthless on the long term.
Had they dumped their Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Neo during a bull run, the downtrend would have looked suspicious. Why would somebody sells off such a large amount of coins while the market is seeking new highs in terms of adoption and prices? But it makes perfect sense that Bitconnect would get rid of their Bitcoin as soon as possible and cash out, and it's the same of the bad ICOs. They're acting before further regulation demands them to provide further justifications and documentation, and before they're found and caught. On their behalf, it was a hit and run scheme and they simply waited for the right amount of FUD to plan their exit from the game.
2017 has been a crazy and prosperous year for ICOs and crypto Ponzi schemes, and it's still uncertain if the current year will follow the same trend. It would only make sense for cryptos to reach new all-time highs since the adoption rate grows, but with people like Nouriel Roubini, Warren Buffet, as well as various politicians and bankers who speak about bans and regulations, nobody's really sure what the future of the crypto market looks like. So if the future is uncertain, why would the thieves of the industry waste any time and risk getting caught in the meantime? Maybe that they could have gotten nicer profits in more prosperous times, but at the same time now they found the getaway moment.
So think about it for a little while and realize how many Bitcoin a Ponzi scheme like Bitconnect must have amassed if they had their token among the biggest crypto currencies in terms of market capital. Likewise, there are plenty of ICOs which asked for their Neo and Ethereum, but have never delivered on their promises. We're still living in the Wild West, everything is unregulated and this only means that we're subject to nasty manipulations and crooked tactics.
On the bright side, if this theory proves to be true, at least we know that those who will be buying the coins will put them to a better use and the market becomes less centralized due to the new users getting in or making new purchases to grow their portfolio. Sometimes crashes can be just like an unexpected rain that falls on a dirty windshield and they clear away all the dust and solidified mud to clear the path and make room for a clearer vision. Happy HODLing!
PS: Do you think that this might be the case and Bitconnect really cashed out?
Photo credits:
Coingape.com - https://static.coingape.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/24152916/bitScam-678x381
Thehackingteam.com - http://thehackingteam.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/FCA-Issues-ICO-Consumer-Warning-Requests-Scam-Reporting-1024x512-09-12-2017
You have a point, but I think Bitconnect was only a natural casualty of a much larger phenomenon.
The crypto crash is as natural to the space as bubbles are. The crypto market is in early adoption and subject to wild tides of sentiment and money. Bitconnect is not the first and definitely not the last scam. But there will also be more bubbles and more crashes ahead.
It certainly could but there is a lot going on. The stock market is crashing as well.