Kategorie: Bitcoin News

• Bitcoin endured a bear market for the whole of 2022

• Macro-economic factors have been responsible

• The bearish market could continue as analysts predicts recession in 2023

There were high hopes as Bitcoin (BTC/USD) surpassed $68,000 at the tail end of 2021. Investors started to bet on $100,000 as the next price level. Renowned investors, including Ark Invest’s Cathie Woods, gave BTC a price target of $500,000. There is no doubt that such levels can be reached as Bitcoin is still very young, and the potential is huge. But does this mean you should be optimistic in 2023?

Well, it could be too early to judge, but the macro situation demands that we trim the expectations. For a year now, Bitcoin has been bearish, owing to concerns about economic tightening and impending recession concerns. In fact, analysts predict a negative GDP for the US in the first three quarters of 2023. That will mean a more bearish market for Bitcoin and stocks alike.

But what does buying Bitcoin now mean? At less than $17,000, BTC is a bargain price. You would count yourself a smart investor should a bull market return. But you may be out of money for a while before that happens. That’s because Bitcoin’s bear market is still ongoing, and you could grab some negative pips before you turn a profit. However, as you may have noticed, BTC has been relatively stable above $16,000. Is this the potential bottom?

BTC initiates a short-term recovery above $16,000

BTC/USD Chart by TradingView

Considering the longer-term bear market, BTC has found stability at the $16,000 support zone. From the daily chart outlook, the cryptocurrency has initiated a recovery at this level. It trades on a short-term trendline. The RSI shifted above the 50-midpoint level on the entry of buyers. 

Will Bitcoin maintain the recovery?

We consider short-term rises relief rallies since the BTC price has yet to overcome the longer-term slump. Should the current upside continue, BTC could face resistance at $19,000? However, we remain cautious about buying BTC now as the price remains vulnerable to a bear market.

Where to buy BTC

eToro

eToro is a global social investment brokerage company which offers over 75 cryptocurrencies to invest in. It offers crypto trading commission-free and users on the platform have the option to manually invest or socially invest. eToro even has a unique CopyTrader system which allows users to automatically copy the trades of popular investors.

Buy BTC with eToro today Disclaimer

OKX

OKX is a top cryptocurrency exchange which offers over 140 cryptocurrencies to invest in. OKX takes customer security very seriously, they store almost all of their clients‘ funds in cold storage, and the exchange is yet to be hacked. On top of this, the exchange offers very low fees and customers can even use their crypto as collateral for loans on the platform.

Buy BTC with OKX today Disclaimer

The post Buying Bitcoin now? What this could mean appeared first on CoinJournal.

Key Takeaways

• Cryptocurrency industry was valued close to $3 trillion entering 2022, now it is $800 billion 
• There are 73% less Bitcoin millionaires after 2022
• Bitcoin has pulled back 75% from its all-time high fo close to $69,000
• 25% of the bitcoin supply was in a loss entering the year, now it is over 50%
• Number of investors holding greater than 1 BTC jumped 20% as the hurdle became much more attainable

    

Once upon a time, the cryptocurrency market was valued at $3 trillion. To be precise, this was in November 2021, when Bitcoin traded at its all-time high of close to $69,000.

But then along came 2022. Inflation sparked as a result of the COVID money printing, war in Ukraine and supply chain issues, meaning central banks worldwide were forced to hike rates to curtail a spiralling cost-of-living crisis.

With the cheap liquidity pulled out from under markets, Bitcoin – and crypto as a whole – felt the pinch. We have seen top 10 cryptocurrencies collapse, one of the top exchanges revealed to be a house of cards and numerous other bankruptcies and scandals. 

The loss has been greater than $2 trillion, with Bitcoin shedding three-quarters of its value as at the time of writing, trading at $16,800.

Bitcoin millionaires

Looking at on-chain data from bitinfocharts.com, Bitcoin millionaires have dropped like flies. Entering 2022, there were 90,000 addresses containing over a million dollars worth of Bitcoin. Today, it is 24,000 – that amounts to a fall of 73%.

“The on-chain data sums up what is glaringly obvious from looking at a Bitcoin price chart – that the party is over and investors are no longer dreaming of retirement off their Bitcoin holdings, in the near future at least! Nearly three-quarters of Bitcoin millionaires losing that status is perhaps the best piece of data of all to summarise how ugly 2022 was for investors” said Max Coupland, Director at CoinJournal. 

Percent in supply in loss doubles in 2022

Bitcoin’s returns before 2022 were astonishing. As a result, the bulk of the supply was in profit, with only 25% of the supply loss-making entering the year. By year-end, this had doubled to over 50% – another stunning statistic when considering that Bitcoin was the best-performing asset class in the world over the prior decade. 

Addresses holding greater than 1 BTC

On the flipside, with Bitcoin being so cheap compared to last year, the number of addresses containing one Bitcoin or greater – “whole coiners”, as they are known – is at all-time high, even if the dollar value contained in those addresses is way down. 

Entering 2022, there were over 814,000 addresses holding more than 1 BTC. By the end of the year, this number was over 978,000 – that is a rise of 20%.

As can be seen when zooming in on 2022 on the below chart, there were significant jumps when Bitcoin plunged off the back of the three major scandals of 2022 – Luna’s death spiral, Celsius’ insolvency and the revelations of fraud at FTX. 

Dropping sentiment matching falling prices

Perhaps the biggest problem emerging from 2022 is related to these scandals. The reputation of crypto has taken a hammer blow, most notably with the shocking downfall of FTX and disgraced former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried. 

According to a CNBC survey as of November 2022, only 8% of Americans now have a positive view of cryptocurrency. 

Crypto investors have seen similar percentage declines before, of course, only for the market to bounce back. But this time, crypto is fighting against a pullback in the wider economy for the first time in its history. 

Until now, it had been zero (or negative) interest rates and a warm money printer. Now, we have transitioned to a new environment, and crypto investors are feeling the pain. They will hope that 2023 can bring a return to prominence and start mending the reputation of the wounded asset class. 

If you use our data, then we would appreciate a link back to https://coinjournal.net. Crediting our work with a link helps us to keep providing you with data analysis research. 

Research Methodology

Address data taken from on-chain. Price data from Yahoo Finance. 

The post 73% less Bitcoin millionaires than a year ago, as crypto losses top $2 trillion in torrid 2022 appeared first on CoinJournal.