Tom Lee Cuts $10,000 Off EOY Bitcoin Price Forecast

Per an article from CNBC, Tom Lee, Bitcoin’s inside man at Fundstrat Global Advisors, recently lowered his Bitcoin (BTC) price prediction by $10,000, claiming that this industry’s foremost asset will only hit $15,000 by year’s end, not $25,000 as he has stated incessantly on previous occasions.

Like his previous bitcoin price calls, the Fundstrat executive drew attention to the break-even cost of mining one BTC, which he believes correlates directly with the price of the digital asset. Lee noted that the break-even cost with Bitmain’s S9 machine has fallen to $7,000 from $8,000, adding that it would be fair for BTC to surpass 2.2 times that amount.

He also drew attention to the Bitcoin Cash contention, which is an ongoing epic, as seen by the endless tussle between Bitcoin ABC and Bitcoin Satoshi’s Vision. Like other analysts, Lee explained that recent bearish price action can be attributed to the hard fork, alluding to the fact that this so-called “civil war” is instilling feelings of distrust in crypto investors at large.

However, while Lee’s decision to cut $10,000 off his forecast may accentuate fleeting hints of bearish sentiment, the bottom line is that the Fundstrat’s in-house research savant isn’t ready to give up on BTC just yet, even though his dignity took a strong blow to the chin, so to speak.

Lee added:

While bitcoin broke below that psychologically important $6,000, this has lead to a renewed wave of pessimism… But we believe the negative swing in sentiment is much worse than the fundamental implications.

Other Insiders Remain Bullish On Crypto

Interestingly, Lee isn’t the only industry insider to be bullish on the short to mid-term prospects of this industry.

In early-October, Spencer Bogart, a partner at Blockchain Capital, explained that positive institutional news, like the arrival of TD Ameritrade, Yale, and the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), will likely be the primary contributor to crypto’s impending bonfire (bull run), as it were.

Lee backed this claim, drawing attention to the looming launch of Bakkt and FDAS as “[a] part of a broader creation of infrastructure necessary for institutional involvement.”

In contrast, Nikolay Storonsky, CEO of Revolut, has recently claimed that retail investors will drive 2019’s crypto bull run, going against the popular sentiment that the launch of the institutional-focused Bakkt and Fidelity Digital Asset Services (FDAS) will propel crypto to Main Street after Wall Street fills their bags.

Others have begged to differ, but as always, investors, whether from the Bitcoin maximalist or altcoin advocate camp, have begun to exert their opinion that a cryptocurrency bull run is in the cards. However, at the time of writing, the crypto market has failed to recover, with BTC and its altcoin brethren posting losses of 2-3%.

David

Buying Bitcoins Recent Dip Could Be Profitable, Chart Watcher Points Out

Earlier this week, bitcoin saw its price drop nearly 12% in a single day, taking it below the $6,000 mark and breaking a longstanding support just under said mark. The day after, bitcoin hit a new yearly low under $5,500. The dip may be a profitable opportunity, according to one chart watcher.

As first reported by MarketWatch, Twitter user OddStats revealed that, throughout bitcoin’s history, large two-day sell-offs are usually followed by short rallies that can be profitable.

Using the Twitter users’ analysis it’s possible to see that in some cases it could’ve been extremely profitable to buy the dip, as long as it dropped over 10% in two days. The last time it occurred, at the end of March, BTC dropped roughly 14%, to about $6,840.

Those who bought the dip then would’ve seen their coins go up a whopping 46% in the next few weeks, as the flagship cryptocurrency then surged to nearly $10,000. As MarketWatch points out, in early February, the strategy would’ve been profitable as well.

At the time, BTC fell over 24.5% in said time period, but quickly recovered as in the next two weeks the cryptocurrency jumped roughly 72%. While in hindsight the strategy looks profitable, some of the microblogging website’s users have pointed out it would be hard to time the market, and that the data may not be representative.

Nevertheless, bitcoiners have seemingly been buying the recent dip. Data from the popular cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex shows the number of long contracts surged from about 23,700 to roughly 26,700 in a few days.

As MarketWatch points out, the outstanding long interest is currently at its highest level since October 11. The two-day sell-off strategy, however, may have its flaws.

Late last year, when bitcoin hit its all-time high close to $19,000, the criteria were met on December 19-20. Buying the cryptocurrency then would’ve set traders down a further 20%, as the cryptocurrency kept on dipping.

David