Though Bitcoin has been quite stable in the last weeks, it is true that there is still fear from the market today whether or not Bitcoin is going to maintain its price for the next days to come. If you are going to ask mainstream economists, Juniper Research is currently warning investors that the crypto world is in the brink of market implosion. For instance, daily transaction volumes fell from an average of around 360,000 a day in late 2017 to just around 230,000 in September 2018.
In addition to this, you also have the fact that daily transaction values went down as well. From $3.7 billion, it has turned to just $670 million in the same period. All of these numbers were shown in the Juniper study that was entitled Cryptocurrency: Bitcoin & Altcoin Trends & Challenges 2018-2023.
As for the total market capitalization of the crypto industry, it started with $1.4 trillion during the start of the year. However, by the second quarter, the transaction values had plummeted and the market capitalization shrunk to just around $355 billion.
What Could Be The Reasons for the Bearish Market?
Of course, many are explaining this phenomenon as an event that is normal now that there are fewer people who are simply into Bitcoin and cryptos to get rich quick. There are those who actually believe that people are simply holding on to their Bitcoin.
There are also those saying that market manipulation was the reason why the crypto market was up in the first place. And stability in the price is a reason to believe that price manipulation has already abated.
Is It Really Going to Implode?
Is it really going to implode? According to the report, “Based on activity during the first half of Q3, Juniper estimates a further 47% quarter-on-quarter drop in transaction values in that quarter”.
There are a number of things that were also pointed out including the failure of Bitcoin and cryptos to rally despite the strained China-US trade relations not to mention the Brexit related problems. These are conditions that could’ve proved the viability of cryptocurrencies. Juniper said that “In short, given our concerns around both the innate valuation of Bitcoin and of the operating practices of many exchanges, we feel that the industry is on the brink of an implosion”.
Though stability is a good thing in order for cryptocurrencies to get adopted, these numbers can already be disturbing. It could actually be true that the movement of crypto price is headed down. In fact, a Fundstrat researcher pointed out that you shouldn’t be getting more Bitcoin at this point. You have to wait whether or not Bitcoin price is going up or down.
And yes, that is despite Michael Novogratz saying that Bitcoin has already bottomed. It is important to wait and see whether or not Bitcoin is really going to surpass the levels from September or not. You may argue that people are still waiting for the SEC to approve a Bitcoin ETF. A Bitcoin ETF for many is believed to increase the participation of institutional investors in the market.
