Bitcoin (BTC) has continued to trade sideways in recent weeks, reflecting a persistent struggle to break free from established bounds.

Bitcoin’s repeated failures to surmount the $30,000-$31,000 resistance range since mid-July has now painted a picture of mounting tension between buyers and sellers as experts offer divergent predictions about the trajectory of Bitcoin’s price.

According to Michaël van de Poppe, the CEO of Amsterdam-based MN Trading Group, most bears are currently targeting a potential crash to $12,000 while bulls are debating the possibilities of a pre-halving peak reminiscent of 2019 or even new all-time highs.

Sharing his perspective in a Thursday tweet, Poppe dismissed the idea of a dip to $12,000, citing the current landscape and altcoin trends. According to the pundit, altcoin investors have faced a prolonged period of downward movement, with the bear market spanning over two years, making it the longest-lasting bear cycle for cryptocurrencies.

“Bitcoin pairs are on cycle lows, sentiment is on the ground, but that doesn’t mean that we’ll need to continue moving downwards from here. Bitcoin’s price is slowly crawling upwards from Bitcoin at $15K, after a period of severe attacks on the markets,” wrote Poppe.

He further noted that the current market cycle phase could be likened to the “second stage of capitulation”, a period characterized by a seeming lack of action and potential disillusionment. According to Poppe, investors need to stay patient while this stage might appear uneventful. Just as the market once anticipated Bitcoin’s drop to $2,000 in 2019, that similar scepticism paved the way for a mega bull run.

While acknowledging that certain recent market challenges can be traced back to blockchain ecosystem attacks and regulatory pressures in 2022, Poppe also pointed out a noteworthy development: the concurrent involvement of established financial players such as BlackRock, Valkyrie, and Invesco. These entities have been actively venturing into the cryptocurrency realm through proposals for ETFs and creating proprietary exchanges. This concerted entry by traditional finance is anticipated to exert upward pressure on prices.

“The big institutions are jumping in, and the wisest thing you can do is to follow them,” he advised.

BitQuant, another analyst, echoed the sentiment of a market divided between bears and bulls. According to him, while bears envision a dramatic drop to $12,000, bulls are split into two camps. One group anticipates a pre-halving peak similar to the 2019 pattern, while the other envisions new record highs for Bitcoin.

“If one (group) aligns with the notion of a 2019-like peak, it might be prudent to await a rise to $60K before persuading others to sell. This approach may not be ideal, but it would be rationale,” he wrote.

At press time, BTC was trading just under $29,040, with its position remaining relatively unchanged in the last 24 hours and its movement confined within a narrow range of $500 for about two weeks.

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Filed under: Bitcoin - @ August 7, 2023 12:09 pm