Many may remember the insane run Bitcoin (BTC) had at the end of 2017 (which then extended into January of the following year). As a result of this, at the start of 2018 many analysts were predicting big things for the premier digital asset, with people like Tom Lee and Mike Novogratz even going as far as saying that BTC could scale up to a price point of over $50,000 by December.

However, with the reality of things now setting in, it appears as though the coming few months will continue to remain rough for Bitcoin (as well as many of the other top alt-coins in the market today).

Crypto savant/ eccentric millionaire, John McAfee, has been a big proponent of the crypto industry (especially Bitcoin) over the past couple of years. This is made evident by the fact that he has time and again claimed that by 2020, BTC will return to its former financial glory.

When I predicted Bitcoin at $500,000 by the end of 2020, it used a model that predicted $5,000 at the end of 2017. BTC has accelerated much faster than my model assumptions. I now predict Bircoin at $1 million by the end of 2020. I will still eat my dick if wrong. pic.twitter.com/WVx3E71nyD

— John McAfee (@officialmcafee) November 29, 2017

However, in the face of all this optimism, the hard truth remains that Bitcoin currently sits at just above the $4,00 mark (with many predicting the asset to drop even further in the coming few days).

As a result of this, many top market analysts have have now taken a step back with their fantastic predictions (including Galaxy’s Mike Novogratz) in terms off where Bitcoin will stand by the start of next year monetarily.

Also, as the market continues to struggle,digital currency analyst Willy Woo has also gone on record to state that it will take around 10 months for the global crypto market to pick up steam once again. In this regard, Woo’s calculations are based on a number of economic indicators that have been devised personally by him.

“This last reading of our blockchain and macro market indicators is still in play. What has changed is that NVTS has now broken its support, typically a sell signal. NVTS is a derivative of NVT Ratio by Dimitry Kalichkin which provides more emphasis on predictive signaling ahead of price peaks”

For those not aware of what NVT is, it is essentially the value that is obtained when we divide Network Valuation by the individual Transaction value.

Additionally, Woo also added that:

“All our blockchain indicators remain bearish. NVT, NVTS, MVRV, BNM, NVM. They are experimental but have served to make very correct calls to date, even when traditional on-exchange indicators were reading to the contrary,”

Talking about the price of Bitcoin for the year 2019, people like Tom Lee have often said that the premier crypto asset could scale up to $25,000 by the end of the year. If that wasn't enough, he has previously also stated that by the end of 2019, BTC could “easily reach” $64,000.

However, here it is worth pointing out that these predictions were based on calculations that took into account “Bitcoin mining costs” with the assumption that the demand for BTC would remain absolutely “stable” through the course of 2018-2019.

First and foremost, the creation of a Bitcoin ETF could really help spur the legitimacy of Bitcoin as a global financial asset of some value. However, as many of our readers already know, the US SEC has been holding out on approvals as it believes that the Bitcoin ETF proposals that have been submitted to it are ridden with a wide array of ‘loop-holes’.

However, as per certain “insider sources”, that situation might come to change soon as it appears as though certain members of the SEC executive brass might be warming up to Bitcoin after all.

Other key factors include:

Even though the crypto market as a whole seems to be going through a rough patch at the moment, it is undeniable that Bitcoin will continue to play an ever growing role within the global financial sector in the coming few years.

In closing, if Reuben Watson of InstaForex is to be believed:

“The decline in a number of cryptocurrencies and altcoins, as well as the bitcoin exchange rate in the area of 4,000 USD, everyone experiences in their own way. For example, yesterday the head of the largest cryptocurrency exchange Binance, Changpang Zhao said that despite the fall of the market and the decline in prices of all major cryptocurrencies, bitcoin will remain on the market. In his opinion, cryptocurrencies are the future, and the current decline is only a speculative maneuver resorted to by major institutional players trying to manipulate the market.”

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