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Bitcoin Recovers Above $17,000, Why This Could Be A Bull Trap

Bitcoin is on another recovery path after suffering one of the worst declines of 2022. The digital asset had hit a low of $15,500 before bouncing back up, all of this happening in response to the decline of FTX, the second-largest crypto exchange by trading volume. The price of bitcoin had altered and recovered above $17,000, dragging the market back into the green, but this could only be a short-lived recovery.

A Bull Trap In The Making

With the decline that was seen in bitcoin and the general crypto market on Wednesday, it was expected that there would be some kind of recovery. This was further propelled forward by the positive CPI data release on Thursday, triggering a good bounce in the price of the digital asset.

However, it is not exactly a completely positive return given how much of its value was recovered and the time frame in between. More often than not, recoveries like these are a bull trap intended to pull more liquidity into the market.

Even with the recovery in price, the sell-offs have not subsided, which puts investors coming into the market at these prices at a disadvantage. A retracement from this level will likely lead to lower lows and a new cycle low.

Bitcoin price chart from TradingView.com

BTC price remains volatile | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com

There is also no significant support for bitcoin above $17,000. Everything from the current price down to $16,500 hangs by a thread. This means that bitcoin will not be able to withstand another downtrend and will see it establishing support just above $16,000.

Bitcoin Still Not Bottomed

For many, it is easy to believe that the bottom is in for the digital asset simply because it has fallen below its previous cycle low, but historical trends show there is still more decline to come. It was the case with bitcoin back in 2018 when the price had finally hit $10,000 and it seemed there was nowhere left to go. In the end, BTC would bottom out just above $3,000.

With bitcoin sitting well below its 50-day moving average, the sell-off trend remains strong. Too much supply is being dumped in the market with not enough demand to soak it up. Add in the fact that the FTX case is still unraveling and will do so for the next few months, and more downside is expected for bitcoin.

A likely bottom point for bitcoin during this cycle would be the $13,000-$14,000 level with some wiggle room. Altcoins will also suffer more losses according to current market movements and the decreased faith in the crypto market. 

Featured image from Barron’s, chart from TradingView.com

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Another Red Daily Close Puts Bitcoin Below $23,000, Is Recovery Expected?

Bitcoin has seen another red daily close after a tremendous rally from last week. This has now wiped off most of the gains made during this time period and has left the digital asset struggling below $23,000 once more. The momentum has quickly died down as the news of the recession settled in. Its viability as an inflation hedge is once more called into question given its performance so far this year.

Is Bitcoin Still A Good Bet?

Bitcoin being an inflation hedge, has been one of the selling points for the digital asset. This is due to its performance on a year-over-year basis compared to other financial markets over similar time frames. Since these financial markets, such as the stock market, have been unable to keep up with the high inflation rate, investors had naturally flocked to bitcoin as yearly returns trumped the inflation percentages.

That is, until a bear market where bitcoin’s performance as an inflation hedge starts to shake. An example is the bear market that is currently being experienced in the market. This decline has seen the digital asset lose about 44% of its value during this time and inflation continues to hit 40-year highs. But on a month-to-month basis, bitcoin has outperformed prominent markets such as the S&P, giving credence to its ability to give reasonable returns even during a bear market.

BTC sees another red daily close | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com

Bitcoin has been up more than 20% in the last month, while the S&P is up only 8%. But on a yearly basis, the market is down significantly less than bitcoin at 5.8%. So while bitcoin has shown to be a good bet when it comes to hedging against inflation, it remains a choice for investors with a large risk appetite.

Market Sentiment Points To Recovery

The crypto market crash back in June had sent the market sentiment deep into the extreme fear territory. This would persist for a couple of weeks as the prices of cryptocurrencies struggled to recover their lost value. However, it would quickly change when bitcoin saw a swift recovery in its price back in July.

Bitcoin had made it back above $24,000 once more, and this had sparked faith in the hearts of investors once more. Sentiment had recovered along with the price and towards the end of the month had grown to a high score just below 30 on the Fear & Greed Index. This score still put it in the fear territory but was a remarkable recovery in sentiment nonetheless.

Now, even with the decline, data shows that investors are still maintaining positive sentiment towards digital assets such as bitcoin. One thing that positive sentiment drives are accumulation, and accumulation leads to recovery. Bitcoin just needs to hold above the $22,700 support and close with a higher price for a bounce back above $23,000.

Featured image from Outlook India, chart from TradingView.com

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Why The Latest Correction Is Good For Bitcoin

Bitcoin has finally corrected downwards after being on a bull rally for the better part of this week. This is an expected development for a digital asset that has grown so much in such a short time. However, while some in the market lament this downtrend, it is important to look at what a correction like this might mean for the digital asset. Because it may do more good than harm in times like these.

Is This Correction Bad?

For any upward recovery, there is bound to be a correction. This can be either good or bad depending on the circumstances surrounding the market movements. This time around, bitcoin has begun a recovery trend after making significant gains earlier this week. Now, for the present market, this looks to be more of a good thing for the digital asset given where the price has landed.

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Bitcoin had been able to hit as high as north of $47,000 during its last rally. This had helped to cement the cryptocurrency’s place in the bull trend. However, after building up so much momentum, there was bound to be a drawback and the result of that has been a declining value.

These kinds of corrections during bull rallies are always good. This is because they allow overbought indicators the change to reset their values to become good enough once more for investors. Paving the way for even more money to come into the market in the wake of the correction. 

BTC support level at $45K | Source: TradingView.com

Naturally, there remains a support zone that the digital asset may not fall below, hence it becomes a problem for the asset. As long as bitcoin is able to hold above $45,000, then the power still firmly rests in the hands of bulls meaning that the cryptocurrency is likely to continue in its current bullish path. If this is the case, then bitcoin may very well see a big bounce coming. Most likely during the weekend when there is less liquidity in the market.

Bitcoin Needs To Hold

In the short term, bitcoin has no problems registering a bullish trend. The main pain point now remains to solidify this position over the long term and in order to do this, the digital asset has to beat the 100-day simple moving average. It is already trading above this but it remains a small margin. If the bottom of this correction can stop above $45,600, then this BTC will revert to a bullish trend over the long term.

Related Reading | Possible Timelines For Bitcoin To Hit $100k: Why CEOs See Bullish Signs

It remains a buyer’s market although how long this last will be determined by the performance over the next week. A proper break above $47,000 will once again set the stage for another massive rally. However, $48,000 will be a hard-fought battle given low momentum.

BTC trading above $45,000 | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com
Featured image from FXComfort, chart from TradingView.com

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Market Analyst Sees Bitcoin Peaking At $100,000 By Year-End

Bitcoin has been subject to a number of predictions as it nears the fourth quarter of the year. The price of the digital asset is still up at this point, and investors are expecting the run to continue. While it is still not sure when the coin might break its previous all-time high again, experts are expecting the digital asset to 2X or more from this point. Among the analysts that believe bitcoin is destined for $100,000 by end of the year is market analyst Kevin Wadsworth.

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Wadsworth is the co-founder of Northstar & Badcharts, a company that provides technical analysis to its customers. The co-founder was on Kitco News to talk about cryptocurrencies with news anchor David Lin. Here, Wadsworth gave predictions for what he saw for both the short term and long term for bitcoin.

A Dip Before The Climb

Analyst Kevin Wadsworth explained that while the bull market is not over, it is going to run out before the end of the year. Wadsworth’s prediction was that bitcoin would most likely fall before continuing the bull run. Putting the floor of this dip at $40,000 before beginning another run. But this time, the run would lead to new all-time high records for the digital asset.

“I think the crypto bull market will conclude before the end of the year. All the crypto charts I’ve been drawing and looking at vary a little bit in timing between the third week of September and some of them perhaps into mid-October or even late October. So there’s this sort of four-week window there between late September and late October where I’d be looking for the crypto bull market to reach its peak.”

BTC price still trading less than $50,000 | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com

Wadsworth puts the price of bitcoin at $100,000 by the time it reaches its peak. Adding that going up above $100,000 would be a bonus generally for the market. In addition to BTC hitting this price, he predicted that the rest of the altcoin market is most likely to follow with significant gains.

Bullish On Bitcoin Long Term

Kevin Wadsworth made an interesting revelation with regards to bitcoin in five years. Wadsworth explained that his company’s analysis of the digital assets leads them to believe that the price of BTC is set to surge to $1 million in the next fours years. He puts the year for achieving this price at 202 for bitcoin. While adding that his company’s analysis possesses a success rate of 90%-95% with such predictions.

Related Reading | Billionaire Who Predicted 2008 Housing Crash Says Bitcoin Is “Worthless”

Wadsworth added that while he was bullish, he was also cautious. Referring to his stand as “cautiously bullish.” And with bitcoin’s movement, the co-founder expects altcoins to also surge. “If we get to $100K, I expect the altcoins, Ethereum and the rest, to triple and quadruple,” said Wadsworth.

Featured image from Financial Times, chart from TradingView.com

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Billionaire Who Predicted 2008 Housing Crash Says Bitcoin Is “Worthless”

“Bitcoin is a bubble” is something that has been thrown around a lot ever since the last bull run began in 2017. A lot of prominent personalities in the finance industry took this stand when the digital asset hit its then all-time high of $19K. The bear market that followed seemed to validate this for the next few years. Then the bull run of 2020 started and a lot of those sentiments were put on the back burner. But now, John Paulson has come to hit the market with the same thing.

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Over a decade ago, billionaire John Paulson had bet against the housing market. Paulson had reportedly made his fortune from carefully placed bets against the housing market in 2007. The billionaire had used credit default swaps to bet against the housing market, which looked to be in its subprime. By 2010, Paulson himself had made $4.9 billion from his bet. The complete total Paulson made for himself and his clients from shorting the market in 2007 came out to about $20 billion, making it one of the biggest fortunes ever made in the history of Wall Street.

Bitcoin Has No Intrinsic Value

Paulson was on Bloomberg’s Wealth with David Rubenstein to talk about trading and financial markets. Paulson remained bullish on gold, as he has been for a number of years now, which he believed is coming into its moment. The billionaire although had nothing good to say about cryptocurrencies. Cryptos received harsh criticism from Paulson, where he stated, “I am not a believer in cryptocurrencies.”

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Paulson then went on to call cryptocurrencies a “bubble.” Paulson attributed the value of cryptocurrencies to the high demand for them. One could argue that this is the way economics works. Demand always plays the biggest role in how something is valued.  Paulson also explained that there were way too many downsides to bitcoin. He added that the digital asset was just too volatile too short. Hence, the short methods

“I would describe cryptocurrencies as a limited supply of nothing. There is no intrinsic value to any of the cryptocurrencies.”

Although Paulson spoke critically on other investments like SPACs, he was harshest on bitcoin. The billion said that cryptocurrencies “will eventually prove to be worthless.”

Gold Versus BTC

Paulson’s track record after his famous 2007 short has not been noteworthy. Although his assets under management grew after the notoriety he gained from that trade, it soon dwindled down as investors pulled out their money. In 2019, Paulson went from managing $38 billion to only about $9 billion assets under management, at this point mostly managing his own money. So Paulson turned his hedge fund into a family office.

BTC has surpassed gold year over year | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com

Paulson is bullish on gold, despite the fact that bitcoin has outperformed the asset consistently over the past decade. While gold has brought consistently negative results to its investors, bitcoin has returned over 200% year over year in returns.

Featured image from Bitcoinist, chart from TradingView.com

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Bitcoin Set To Outperform In Second Half Of 2021, Bloomberg Analyst

As Bitcoin continues its tumultuous run through the market, analysts continue to see big things in store for the cryptocurrency. Bloomberg analyst Mike McGlone recently said in the August Edition of the Bloomberg Galaxy Crypto Index (BGCI) that the coin was set to outperform in the second half of the year. Already one month into the second half of the year, the market has seen the price of bitcoin breaking $40,000 for the first time since the market crash.

The report said bullish fundamental underpinnings would improve this second half. Likely relating to the continuous growth of the digital asset over the past two weeks. Continuing upward trends have put the digital asset at bullish trends that see the asset price increasing higher.

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The report sees the current trends enduring, which would most likely push the assets to continue to outperform as the second half of the year plays out.

Bitcoin Reasserts Leadership Of Crypto Market

Bitcoin continues to be the number one cryptocurrency in the market. A large share of crypto market dominance continues to be held by the digital asset. With over 45% of market dominance belonging to bitcoin. This puts the digital asset at the top of the food chain when it comes to the cryptocurrency market.

The report points out that the pioneer cryptocurrency recently reasserted its dominance in the market with the recent 10% in the price, following the weekend rally that saw top crypto coins across the board gaining significant numbers in their price.

BTC price moves into downtrend | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com

Bitcoin was tied in with gold and long bonds as the top assets that were set to outperform this second half of the year. Pointing out their decades-long advancement and recent price dips as an enhancement for their current relative values.

Ethereum In Resting Bull Ark

The report also touched on the current movement of Ethereum along with bitcoin. Explaining that the continuing growing nature of the digitalized finance market will bring about an uptrend in the price of Ethereum.

Related Reading | Ethereum Set To Explode According To Market Dominance, Crypto Analyst

Ethereum has continuously outperformed in the market since its inception. So it is not a stretch to believe that the asset is set to outperform, following behind bitcoin. Ethereum still commands the second largest market cap in the crypto market. And is gaining more and more market share as the coin continues to gain more value. With upgrades set to happen on the network, ETH is going to be even more valuable than ever.

The report pointed out that adoption will increase for both Bitcoin and Ethereum. While dollar dominance will continue to remain a prominent theme in the market.

Featured image from Markets Insider, chart from TradingView.com