The Bitcoin price abruptly fell $250 January 10 as a fresh wave of volatility washed away the calm which had characterized markets this week.
Easy Come, Easy Go
Data from Bitcointicker shows a curious retracing for Bitcoin Thursday, the largest cryptocurrency dropping from $4050 to $3800 in minutes.
The move down cancels out gains from January 7, which saw BTC/USD [coin_price] make an identical move in the other direction – from $3830 to $4020.
Bitcoin remains 11 percent up on the month to date, while more broadly, its price remains down by over a third compared with three months ago.
On social media, commentators were speculating as to why Monday’s gains had disappeared, with theories appearing to favor moves by exchanges.
Bitcoin Price Plan Still On Track
As Bitcoinist reported, volatility amounting to hundreds of dollars becomes immaterial taken within the wider context of Bitcoin price activity in recent months.
Despite falling below $4000, BTC/USD remains well above the worst case scenario forecast by analysts such as Tone Vays, who warned the pair could yet fall to $1300 or even lower. The clinching factor, he said in December, was Bitcoin staying above its 200-week moving average.
Having since managed to do just that, attention is now focusing on 2019 and a potential slow run-up to new all-time highs later.
On Twitter, the account known as planB suggested the Bitcoin price to maintain a shorter-term goal – the 200-day moving average – this year, followed by growth to $100,000 in 2021. By the time of the May 2020 block reward halving, however, Bitcoin will still only trade around $8000.
My 2 cents on #bitcoin price:
– 2019: btc stays above 200-week moving average (now $3200 and historically never declining)
– 2020 halving: will be around $8000 (blue), on trend-line like 2012 & 2016
– 2021: bull run starts after the halving (red) and tops $100k in 2021 (orange) pic.twitter.com/UpRKDPRswM— planɃ [Bitcoin] (@100trillionUSD) January 9, 2019
Fellow analyst and Bitcoinist contributor Filbfilb was additionally eyeing support at $3600 and $3100.
“Fail at that level and we confirm an M top and [Bitcoin price] will retest 3.1k,” he noted.
Meanwhile, altcoins continue to follow and react to Bitcoin’s movements. Ether (ETH) dropped 8.3 percent in the 24 hours to press time compared with Bitcoin’s 5.4 percent, while Bitcoin Cash (BCH) delivered 10.6 percent losses.
Only TRON’s TRX token appeared to weather the storm, despite moderate losses still posting a 17 percent daily improvement.
What do you think about Bitcoin’s latest price moves? Let us know in the comments below!
Images courtesy of Shutterstock, bitcointicker.co