It’s been an exciting year for the cryptocurrency world, and you may be wondering what 2018 holds for Bitcoin and the crypto market in general. If so, you are not alone – interest, coverage and speculation is at an all time high!
A quick look at history provides one view. On January 1st, 2017, Bitcoin was valued at just under $1,000; $998.99 to be exact. That value jumped over 13x to $13,354 as 2018 opened. If you followed this (rather simplistic) line of reasoning, that would put Bitcoin over $175,000 this time next year! But, not so fast – the world is changing. No one can predict the future, but speculating about it can be fun, so let’s take a look at what is happening now that has changed since this time last year.
Firstly, there is the price. Yes, you can buy fractions of Bitcoin, but the price is staggering if you want to hold just one. And in all honesty, when you see this kind of growth, the “bubble” question comes to mind. Is it a bubble? We don’t think so, but that is just our uninformed opinion. You would have to look at the history of “bubbles” and draw your own conclusion. But one thing is for sure: interest is much, much higher than ever before, and as unsophisticated investors (punters, gamblers?) come into the market, uncertainty runs rampant.
The other thing that is for sure is the coverage of Bitcoin. Every financial channel seems to have made it a mission to report on the cryptocurrency, and in most cases the coverage is negative. Perhaps they feel they are saving us from ourselves, but the coverage does seem to be somewhat one-sided. Are they right? Maybe so, maybe not, but it would be refreshing to see more balance in the press equation.
And then there is the expanding market – the ways you can, yes I will say it, bet on Bitcoin. The CBoE and the CME have already legitimised the currency by making futures trading available to those who can afford it. One thing we will predict with some certainty: there will be a Bitcoin ETF in 2018. It would be a wild ride if Bitcoin continues to follow the same wide swings as in 2017. But will it?
We believe that the wider market coverage and the availability of trading through more traditional sources could actually be good for Bitcoin over this new year. Already, we are seeing some dampening of the wide swings from the past. So while this means that $175,000 may not be in the cards by this time next year, we may see a much better organised market, creating a foundation for a more predictable value.
So where are we going? The charts show some support around $13,400 again around $11,600. There is some strong resistance around $15,650, but above that the path is pretty open for more growth. Our prediction? Somewhere between zero and $175,000!
Charts courtesy of Investing.com.
