Since 2011, mainstream media outlets, bank executives, economists, and other skeptics have gleefully proclaimed Bitcoin’s demise after every major correction from its all-time high.
Bitcoin Will Keep Defying its Critics
In the past ten years, Bitcoin has experienced five 85 percent corrections including the recent 14-month bear market. However, the dominant cryptocurrency has managed to survive each correction, achieving a new all-time high after every major drop and defying the critics.
2013 – “Game Over, Bitcoin” – @businessinsider | $110.68
“The bubble has burst & now all that’s left is to watch its steady & inexorable decline. So what now? It will crash & disappear like https://t.co/OjKZZ43XyW & Lehman Brothers, existing only in the memories of Economists” pic.twitter.com/KbAXSbqnw1
— $carface (@TraderScarface) March 2, 2019
Industry experts and high-profile investors firmly believe 2019 will be no different for Bitcoin, especially considering the unexpected entrance of institutional investors and financial institutions in the cryptocurrency sector.
Why Bitcoin is in a Stronger Place Today Than in 2017
The entrance of actual institutional investors into the crypto industry puts the asset class in a stronger place than when prices were at an all-time high. | Source: Shutterstock
On February 1, Blocktower chief investment officer Ari Paul said that he has been too optimistic about the commitment of institutional investors in the cryptocurrency space.
At the time, Paul said that he expects institutional investors to come into the cryptocurrency market by the third quarter of 2019.
“I’ve been too optimistic about the pace of institutional adoption in the past. It’s coming, but I can’t estimate which quarter (Whether that’s this year or 2022) that we’ll see a big spike. As a humble guess, something like Q3 2019,” Paul said.
However, within two weeks after the release of Paul’s statement, Anthony Pompliano at Morgan Creek announced that two public U.S. pension funds invested in a cryptocurrency fund.
This morning our team at Morgan Creek Digital announced a new $40 million crypto venture fund anchored by two public pensions.
The institutions aren’t coming.
They’re already here. 🚀
— Pomp 🌪 (@APompliano) February 12, 2019
Institutional adoption of cryptocurrencies arrived faster than the expectations of existing investors in the sector.
Shortly after that, Julius Baer, one of the largest private banks in Switzerland, provided its clients access to cryptocurrencies, Nasdaq launched Bitcoin and Ethereum indices, and Fidelity announced the creation of a cryptocurrency custodial service.
“At Julius Baer, we are convinced that digital assets will become a legitimate sustainable asset class of an investor’s portfolio,” Peter Gerlach, Head Markets at Julius Baer and proposed member to the Board of Directors of SEBA said.
As CCN reported, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC invested in Coinbase in late 2018, a move that could fuel the confidence of investors in the long-term growth of the cryptocurrency sector.
The concern of skeptics towards the state of BItcoin following a major correction has always been the lack of liquidity and activity in the cryptocurrency market.
As of March 2, the daily volume of the cryptocurrency exchange market is estimated to be around $24 billion, and the over-the-counter (OTC) market of digital assets is said to be at least twice larger than the volume of the exchange market.
With the momentum Bitcoin gained after recording its first green monthly candle in over eight months since July 2018, which refers to a net gain in value in a 30-day span, analysts foresee the asset class initiating a steady recovery in the months to come.
$BTC Monthly Chart
All I have to say is that the previous “bullish engulfing” candle set up a perfect ramp leading to the current bullish monthly candle pic.twitter.com/u16Mci5MCN
— Josh Rager 📈 (@Josh_Rager) March 2, 2019
Forecasting Crypto’s Near-Term Movements
In the short-term, traders generally expect Bitcoin to retain its low volatility in a tight price range.
If the flagship cryptocurrency can cleanly break out of key resistance levels including $4,000 and $4,200 which it previously struggled to breach, the asset could gain new momentum to initiate an accumulation phase.
Market analyst David Puell said that $4,200 is an important level for Bitcoin as it presents the average price of acquisition by the market.
$BTC: Current state of price models:
1/$4,200: Realized price is the average of what the market paid for their coins. It should serve as resistance, since weak hands dump at break-even (see 2015).
$2,823: Delta price accelerates to new lows, forming a fishnet with NVT prices. pic.twitter.com/2vKG1Z5yz1
— David Puell (@kenoshaking) March 1, 2019
The price movement of the cryptocurrency market will largely depend on whether BTC can break above the $4,200 mark and escape the $3,100 to range $4,000 it has been in since November, for well over three months.
Several tokens and low market cap cryptocurrencies in the likes of Binance Coin and Basic Attention Token have recorded relatively large gains in recent weeks against both BTC and the USD.
It’s only a matter of time before large-cap assets follow suit.
