Market Expert Predicts New Paradigm For Bitcoin: ‘Days Under $100,000 Numbered’

As the Bitcoin (BTC) Halving event concluded for the fourth time, the cryptocurrency market witnessed notable changes in key metrics. 

These developments have led Charles Edwards, a market expert and founder of Capriole Invest, to issue bold predictions that hint at a paradigm shift in the BTC market. 

Bitcoin Trading At ‘Deep Discount’

One of the key metrics highlighted by Edwards is the staggering electrical cost associated with mining a single Bitcoin. Edwards reveals that this cost has now reached an astonishing $77,4000. This figure represents the raw electricity expenses required to power the Bitcoin network for every newly mined BTC.

Another significant metric that Edwards draws attention to is the Bitcoin Miner Price, which soared to $244,000 on Saturday. This metric encompasses the block reward and fees miners receive for every Bitcoin they successfully mine. 

Notably, this surge in miner price coincided with transaction fees skyrocketing to $230, marking a four-fold increase compared to the previous all-time high of $68 set in 2021.

Bitcoin

Considering the metrics above, Edwards suggests that BTC currently trades at a “deep discount.”  This is because BTC’s price is lower than the electrical costs of mining it.

Typically, this situation only lasts for a few days every four years, suggesting that the price will only take a short time to catch up and surpass this price level, which is slightly below BTC’s all-time high (ATH) of $73,7000, reached on March 14th. 

Edwards outlines three possible outcomes in the wake of these developments. First, he anticipates a scenario in which the price of Bitcoin experiences a significant surge. 

Secondly, there is a likelihood that approximately 15% of miners may be forced to shut down due to unfavorable economics. Finally, Edwards suggests that average transaction fees are expected to remain substantially higher.

Based on the analysis of these metrics and the potential scenarios, Edwards boldly predicts that Bitcoin’s days under the $100,000 mark are “numbered.” While it remains to be seen which of the three outcomes will prevail, Edwards expects a combination of all three factors to contribute to Bitcoin’s price appreciation.

Optimal Buying Opportunity? 

Bitcoin has demonstrated significant price consolidation above the $60,000 mark since Friday, following temporary drops below this threshold amid mounting anticipation for the Halving event. 

Crypto analyst Ali Martinez recently analyzed Bitcoin’s current price state, suggesting that a potential bottom may have formed above these levels, increasing the likelihood of surpassing upper resistance levels shortly.

According to Ali Martinez’s analysis, Bitcoin strives to establish the $66,000 price level as a crucial support zone. Data reveals that approximately 1.54 million addresses collectively purchased 747,000 BTC at this level. If Bitcoin successfully secures this support, it may pave the way for further upward movement.

Martinez identifies Bitcoin’s next critical resistance levels, between $69,900 and $71,200. These levels represent significant price barriers for BTC bulls, and Bitcoin may encounter selling pressure at these levels. 

In addition, the analyst points out that the Bitcoin MVRV ratio, a metric that compares the market value of Bitcoin to its realized value, has shown a promising pattern, as seen in the chart below. 

Bitcoin

Martinez highlights that whenever the MVRV ratio falls below its 90-day average since November 2022, it historically indicates an optimal buying opportunity for Bitcoin. Interestingly, such buying opportunities have resulted in average gains of approximately 67%.

According to Martinez, based on current market conditions and an analysis of the MVRV ratio, now may be an opportune time to consider buying Bitcoin. The historical data and the potential for significant price appreciation support this view. 

Bitcoin

BTC is trading at $66,100, up 1.6% in the past 24 hours. 

Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com

Can Bitcoin Overcome Past Trends? Examining The Pre-Halving Rally And Resistance Levels

Bitcoin (BTC), the largest cryptocurrency in the market by trading volume and capitalization, has embarked on a renewed bullish uptrend, reclaiming previously lost territories and surpassing resistance levels, igniting optimism among investors. 

Currently trading just below its 25-month high of $49,000 at $47,900, Bitcoin has experienced a remarkable price increase of over 6% within 24 hours and a significant 11% surge over the past seven days. 

Mapping BTC’s Path Amidst Pre-Halving Rally

However, amidst the market’s excitement, it is crucial to consider historical tendencies and their potential impact on Bitcoin’s trajectory leading up to the upcoming halving event. Market expert and analyst Rekt Capital highlights two noteworthy historical patterns:

Firstly, the “Pre-Halving Rally” phase appears to be commencing. This phase refers to a period where Bitcoin experiences a surge in price before the halving event takes place. 

Secondly, historical data reveals that Bitcoin has struggled to break beyond the macro diagonal resistance before the halving, which Rekt places at $47,000. Additionally, it has encountered difficulty surpassing its Four Year Cycle resistance, which is approximately $46,000 in the current cycle.

It is worth noting that even though the price has surpassed these resistance levels, a consolidation or continuation of the uptrend must be seen, as a retracement could take place and leave the BTC price stuck between these resistances.

Bitcoin

Given these historical trends, exploring how Bitcoin could potentially reconcile these patterns is interesting. Rekt Capital offers insights into one possible path that Bitcoin could take:

During the pre-halving rally phase, Bitcoin may produce limited upside, resulting in an upside wick at the end of February. This pattern has been observed in previous months and 2019. 

Following this, Bitcoin might establish another range at higher price levels in March, potentially allowing altcoin rallies to take center stage. Finally, a few weeks before the halving event, Bitcoin could experience a pullback, creating a pre-halving retrace.

This proposed path suggests that Bitcoin could surpass the Macro Diagonal resistance with an upside wick but remain below it in terms of end-of-month monthly candle closes during this gradually concluding pre-halving period.

Bitcoin Bull Run Indicator Flashing Buy Signal

Crypto analyst Ali Martinez has added to the growing bullish sentiment surrounding Bitcoin by highlighting a key indicator that suggests potential upside movement. 

According to Martinez, the Super Trend indicator flashed a buy signal on the BTC monthly chart. This tool is renowned for its precision in predicting bullish trends in Bitcoin markets.

The indicator’s track record underscores the significance of this buy signal. Martinez points out that the Super Trend has issued four buy signals since Bitcoin’s inception, and all four have been validated, leading to substantial gains. These gains amount to an impressive 169,172%, 9,900%, 3,680%, and 828%, respectively.

Bitcoin

However, amidst the bullish outlook, Martinez also highlights a potential strategy that may soon impact Bitcoin’s price.

According to the Bitcoin liquidation heatmap, a scenario is unfolding where liquidity hunters could drive the price of Bitcoin down to $45,810. The intention behind this move would be to trigger liquidations amounting to a substantial $54.73 million.

It is important to understand that liquidity hunters aim to exploit price movements to trigger forced liquidations among overleveraged traders. By strategically driving the price down, they can force these traders to sell their positions, resulting in cascading liquidations that potentially amplify price downward movements.

Bitcoin

Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com 

Bitcoin Long Positions Surge On Bitfinex: Whales Add 4,230 BTC, Signaling Potential Price Reversal

In a surprising turn of events, the approval of spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) has not yielded the anticipated immediate upside impact on the Bitcoin price. 

Contrary to expectations within the crypto community, BTC has experienced a sharp drop of over 16% since the ETF approval on Wednesday, January 11, dipping below the key $40,000 level. The failure of BTC bulls to hold the support level has led to a testing phase at the $38,000 level, accompanied by a 4.5% price drop within the past 24 hours.

Bitfinex Whales Buck The Trend

Amidst the market volatility, according to Datamish, Bitfinex whales have accumulated Bitcoin long positions since November 2023. This accumulation of approximately 4,230 BTC since January 17 marks the first sustained increase in Bitfinex BTC long positions following a sharp decline in November last year. 

Bitcoin

However, the recent downturn in the BTC price can be partly attributed to increased selling pressure from miners and asset manager Grayscale. Grayscale has notably increased its BTC sell-off since the ETF trading commenced. 

Transferring a significant amount of BTC from the Grayscale Trust address to Coinbase, totaling 69,994 BTC ($2.9 billion), has influenced the market dynamics. 

Additionally, reports indicate substantial sell-offs of Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust GBTC shares, including a notable sale of 22 million GBTC shares by the FTX estate, worth nearly $1 billion. 

Bitcoin Liquidation Zones Wiped Off

The impact of Grayscale’s sell-off is evident in CoinGlass’ liquidation heatmap, which shows notable liquidation zones being wiped off in the 1-week chart. 

While Grayscale’s BTC dump has contributed to the price drop, the increased accumulation of BTC long positions on Bitfinex indicates a potential change in sentiment. A price reversal could occur if the $38,000 support line holds, pushing BTC back above $40,000.

Bitcoin

Furthermore, excluding Grayscale, institutional investors and asset managers involved in the ETF market have collectively acquired over 86,320 BTC at an average price of $42,000, representing a substantial $3.63 billion investment. 

Market experts such as Ali Martinez suggest that these institutions are likely to adopt a strategic, long-term view rather than engage in peak purchases. This level of institutional investment underscores the growing recognition of Bitcoin as a legitimate asset class and signifies confidence in its long-term growth potential.

Bitcoin

Currently, the Bitcoin price is at $38,800, reflecting a substantial year-to-date decline of over 12% and a 9.7% drop in the past seven days. The duration and extent of the selling pressure caused by Grayscale’s BTC dump remain uncertain, leaving the question of how much further the BTC price may decline.

Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com 

Bitcoin Price Drops Sub $39,000 – 3 Key Reasons

The Bitcoin price has plummeted below the $39,000 mark, the lowest level since December 2. This significant drop can be attributed to three main factors that have collectively contributed to the current market sentiment and price action.

#1 Selling Pressure From Grayscale’s GBTC Outflows

The market has been heavily influenced by the continuous outflows from the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC). Bloomberg analyst James Seyffart commented on the severity of the situation, stating, “Woof. BAD day for Bitcoin ETFs overall in the Cointucky Derby. GBTC saw over $640 million flow out today. Outflows aren’t slowing — they’re picking up. This is the largest outflow yet for GBTC. Total out so far is $3.45 Billion.”

Nevertheless, the volume on the Bitcoin ETFs remained very strong, surpassing $2 billion, with GBTC accounting for over half of this volume. The total volume for the first seven trading days approached $19 billion.

Interestingly, while GBTC experienced significant outflows, the broader spot Bitcoin ETF landscape paints a different picture. Excluding Grayscale, the nine new ETFs have collectively amassed 95,000 Bitcoin ($3.8 billion), in stark contrast to the 65,000 Bitcoin ($2.9 billion) that flowed out of GBTC.

22,000 BTC have been from selling from the FTX Estate, meaning not flowing into others. While the cessation of this supply overhang is generally positive for the market, it remains crucial to monitor whether the outflows from Grayscale persist or intensify, even after the conclusion of the FTX-related sell-offs.

#2 Futures And Options Markets Cool Down

A significant contributor to Bitcoin’s price movement below $39,500 is the cooling of activity in the futures and options markets. Notably, the open interest in CME Bitcoin futures experienced a sharp decline, shedding over $1.64 billion following the approval of spot BTC ETFs, indicating a reduction in market leverage and speculative interest.

Crypto analyst Skew provided a nuanced analysis of the market dynamics, particularly focusing on the interplay between Bitcoin’s perpetual futures (perps) and the spot market. Skew noted, “Nothing too conclusive yet in perps market other than shorts becoming the dominant position in the market currently. Perp premiums often occurring during periods of spot limit selling into price. Spot premiums notably when perps push price into areas of limit bids on spot exchanges.”

This observation points to a shift towards bearish sentiment in the perps market, with short positions taking precedence. The analyst also highlighted the current market’s lack of volatility and urgency, attributing it to decreased open interest and a focus on spot market flows.

Further shedding light on the market sentiment, options analytics platform Greeks.live added insights into the options market, particularly the behavior of Bitcoin’s implied volatility (IV) and the volatility risk premium (VRP). They noted, “Bitcoin fell below the $40,000 as short-term IVs recovered. Overall VRP has risen, and the Skew curve is skewed towards put options.”

This shift towards put options signifies an increase in market participants hedging or betting on further downside, thus contributing to the bearish sentiment. However, Greeks.live also pointed out that despite the bearish forces and the presence of panic orders, the overall market is still witnessing a balanced game between bulls and bears.

#3 Sentiment Shift – Calls For $35,000 Get Louder

The third pivotal factor influencing Bitcoin’s price drop below $39,500 is a notable shift in market sentiment, emphasizing the need for a correction after a prolonged bullish period. Charles Edwards, the founder of Capriole Investments, articulated the market’s current state, highlighting the abnormality of the recent price trends and forecasting an inevitable return to volatility.

Edwards stated, “We’re still not here yet. This pullback is very overdue and lower is healthier.” He pointed out the rarity of the current market conditions, noting, “It’s now been over 232 days since Bitcoin had a 25%+ drawdown in the prior 12 months. The last time this happened was more than a decade ago, in 2011! The current low downside volatility period is NOT normal. These dips usually occur every 2-3 months. Volatility will return.”

The recent price correction, although perceived as a healthy and overdue adjustment by analysts, has nevertheless instilled a sense of panic among traders and investors. The market’s sentiment has taken a negative turn, especially as Bitcoin experiences a -20% dip, a movement partly attributed to the overhang of Grayscale’s supply.

The once robust bullish optimism has waned, giving way to louder calls for a further decline to $35,000 or even lower. This shift in sentiment is quantitatively reflected in the Bitcoin Fear & Greed Index, which has moved to a neutral position of 50, marking a significant departure from the extreme greed observed during the uptrend.

At press time, BTC traded at $39,219.

Bitcoin price