BTC to USD Goes Up - Upward Mode is On?

In case you missed it, Bitcoin is back. The entire market capitalization of the world’s most popular digital asset has swelled to an almost year-and-a-half high of over $200 billion recently. That puts the Bitcoin price back up over $10,000. 

So, what’s the story? Are we back to the races? Or could Bitcoin still head down into the mid-five figures or even lower? Let’s look at some opinions.

The Bullish Case

Ask almost anyone around the Bitcoin space if they think that we’re back into the full-on bull market territory and you’ll get a resounding “yes”. Many popular Bitcoin commentators seem in agreement that the $3,200 low that Bitcoin reached in December 2018 was the ultimate bottom of this market cycle. 

Naturally, as with the previous bull markets, there have been some wild Bitcoin price estimates thrown out there. Naeem Aslam, the chief market analyst at ThinkMarkets, states that the Bitcoin price is likely to hit between $60,000 and $100,000 during the next bull market. He also points to the ongoing unrest in the Middle East as a factor that is driving investors to take up positions at the moment. Since Bitcoin is increasingly seen as a “safe haven” investment, those wanting to hedge against other assets are finding the cryptocurrency appealing. 

Arguing that higher prices are certainly on the horizon but for a different reason is Fundstrat’s Tom Lee. The Bitcoin bull believes that the mainstream validation given to cryptocurrencies by Facebook’s Libra is certainly promising for Bitcoin and would drive the price to new highs “easily”. 

Elsewhere, Aaron Brown, a contributing journalist at Bloomberg, has argued that if the previous price cycles are anything to go by, Bitcoin could be propelled to a massive $400,000 based on its ever-improving fundamentals. He states that the regulatory landscape is clearer than it has ever been before. Moreover, the recent moves by large companies and wealth managers into the space have made the position of Bitcoin much more robust and therefore more alluring to investors. 

Other raging bulls include Kraken’s Jesse Powell, software engineer and presidential hopeful John McAfee, and Lucid Investment’s Tyler Jenks. Powell has recently taken to Twitter to light-heartedly hint at much higher Bitcoin prices – perhaps as high as seven figures.

McAfee also sits in the million-dollar Bitcoin club. He’s confident in Bitcoin hitting a seven-figure mark in 2020 and continue holding to that position. Finally, there is veteran trader and YouTube analyst, Tyler Jenks.

Jenks believes that the world needs a sound monetary unit to base the economy on and that Bitcoin seems particularly well-suited to the role. If this were to come to fruition, the long-time trader says a $10 million Bitcoin is conservative. 

Although some of these price calls might seem far-fetched as Bitcoin sits just around $11,000, Vijay Boyapati, a software engineer and Bitcoin advocate, argues that the current optimism is indeed the beginnings of a new bull market. In determining how high the price could go, Boyapati says that it is expected to really start appreciating rapidly once it crosses its previous all-time high.

On the way up, there is still pressure from those who did not sell during the bear market and want to exit the market at around break-even. However, once $20,000 is passed, all bets are off! This is because there will be ever-increasing buying pressure as the media outlets grab hold of new “Bitcoin All-Time High Stories.” Such a frenzy of buying could send the Bitcoin price far higher than anyone thought possible, particularly now that institutions will be able to access the market in a way that they feel more comfortable through the likes of Bakkt and Fidelity’s digital currency offerings. 

The Bearish Case

Discounting the relentless bears for the purposes of this article, let’s consider those generally optimistic about the future of cryptocurrency, but believing the time isn’t now to test that all-time high. 

Perhaps, the most prominent of the not-quite-bullish camp is former Wall Streeter and YouTube technical analyst Tone Vays. In a recent video, Vays states that he wants to see a substantial pullback, like those witnessed in the previous bull cycles, before going to all-time highs. He warns that if we do not see such a retracement, investors should expect an 80 percent or more correction. 

However, he also makes no calls on how high the current parabolic move to the upside could be. At $50,000 plus, 80 percent wouldn’t completely decimate the market. If there’s anywhere below that lofty figure, a lot of newcomers will likely lose money. 

Joining Vays in his cautious pessimism is the founder of Ethfinex, Will Harborne. The cryptocurrency entrepreneur told an industry news publication that he believed the price was being held up by the controversial moves of those behind Tether. Harborne pointed to the total supply of Tethers rapidly increasing as a possible sign of market manipulation. If such suspicions are true, any price correction on the way up could be very dramatic indeed.

To Sum Up

Not everyone is optimistic about Bitcoin’s short-to-mid-term prospects and, of course, there are those that think the whole thing is going to crash to zero in the near future. 

Still, many in the cryptocurrency community believe that Bitcoin is finally recovering from the doom-and-gloom 2018, when the market lost over 50% of its value. If this trend is anything to go by, then 2019 will certainly be the year of flourishing. We’ll see!