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Bitcoin – Sub-$3,000 Here We Come!

By:
Bob Mason
Published: Dec 7, 2018, 01:58 UTC

Even the more bullish of the Bitcoin bulls will be wondering how much lower Bitcoin can go before settling...

crypto-market-crash

Bitcoin tumbled by 6.37% on Thursday, following a 5.25% fall on Wednesday, to end the day at $3,531.

Hopes of a Bitcoin recovery from Wednesday’s losses may have been felt in the early hours of Thursday, with Bitcoin finding support to rise to an early morning intraday high $3,922.7. It was the only bullish move of the day however, with Bitcoin and the broader market hitting reverse through the remainder of the day.

Sliding through the late morning and afternoon, Bitcoin fell through the first major support level at $3,681.67 to an early afternoon $3,632.5 low before a late in the day sell-off. The late sell-off saw Bitcoin slide through the second major support level at $3,590.53 to an intraday low and new swing lo $3,503.

There was no recovery from the low, with the negative bias firmly intact as the news wires contributed to the broad based market sell-off on the day.

News of the SEC delaying its decision on the 9 Bitcoin ETF applications that were placed under review should have come as little surprise and the market response was also unsurprising.

Regulatory chatter has begun to build and, with the U.S DoJ’s investigation into last year’s Bitcoin rally ongoing, the SEC had little choice but to delay, the alternative being to outright reject the applications.

While investors will take little comfort from the fact that the decision has been delayed, the reality is that there appears to be some willingness within the review board to approve some, if not all, once the regulatory and custodial frameworks are in place.

In a market that once balked at the prospects of regulatory change and increased oversight, its decision time and, judging by the latest sell-off, the combination of the introduction of a regulatory framework and mass inflow of institutional money may not be a bad thing.

Let’s put it this way, it takes more than news for institutional money to start heading for the door en masse, well not this kind of news at least.

How bad is it?

The crypto market cap is now down at $107.69bn and Bitcoin’s dominance is back up at 55.1% in spite of also succumbing to heavy losses.

Some may be cringing at the slide across the global equity markets, but this blood bath is in another stratosphere. Just a week ago, the total market cap was at $139bn and a month ago at $220bn.

We have been talking of Bitcoin $2,000 for some time and for the total market cap to fall below $100bn. This week’s moves have not only made the forecasts plausible, but a reasonable possibility as more investors head for the door.

Get Into Cryptocurrency Trading Today

At the time of writing, Bitcoin was down 3.21% to $3,417.8, with Thursday’s late sell-off spilling over to the early hours of this morning.

The news wires have been on the busier side and, just as Bitcoin Cash SV surpasses Bitcoin Cash ABC, news of a lawsuit being filed by United Corp against Roger Ver and the Kraken Bitcoin Exchange couldn’t have come at a worse time.

The suit claims manipulation during the Bitcoin Cash hard fork and when considering the size of the losses coming since the hard fork, it’s surprising that more have not come forward.

For the day ahead, some support will be likely in the early part of the day, price levels likely to draw in the more risk tolerant investor, but even the more fool hardy will unlikely leave any winnings on the table, which should pin back any attempt at a rebound.

BTC/USD 07/12/18 Daily Chart

About the Author

Bob Masonauthor

With over 20 years of experience in the finance industry, Bob has been managing regional teams across Europe and Asia and focusing on analytics across both corporate and financial institutions. Currently he is covering developments relating to the financial markets, including currencies, commodities, alternative asset classes, and global equities.

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