2021 is rapidly coming to a close, and much to Bitcoin (CCC:BTC-USD) bulls’ chagrin, the BTC coin is not actually finishing the year with a six-figure valuation. After many predictions over the spring and early summer months of Bitcoin reaching $100,000 or even higher before 2022, it now seems like the coin will struggle to break even $50,000 in the next week. And with Bitcoin looking to struggle through the beginning of the year, some are preparing for a crypto bear market 2022. Bitcoin proves itself to be a weathervane for the entire asset class, and if Bitcoin is struggling, one wouldn’t be surprised if all cryptos had a rough go in the next year.
But is Bitcoin going to break free? Are investors going to see a rapid turnaround? Analysts are quite torn on the issue. Let’s take a look at some analysts’ takes to get a feel for the market in the next year.
Crypto Bear Market 2022? Many Bullish Investors Still Say Otherwise.
There are plenty of bulls arguing that a crypto bear market 2022 is out of the question. As pseudonymous crypto influencer “Light” says, the reason for this is that bears will slow on selling momentum going into the end of the year.
Light posted a series of tweets over the weekend discussing predictions for the next year. They were very clear in their prediction: Bears will not continue selling as we get into 2022. They say that a huge factor in keeping Bitcoin — and therefore other altcoin — prices down was mass selling. The technical analysis also ties Bitcoin trading behavior to aggressive short-selling in the equities market.
Another Bitcoin bull, analyst Philip Swift, is not sweating the movement either. Swift is firm that the one-year moving average is the most important stat to consider when predicting momentum. And, as it turns out, Bitcoin remains right on top of its one-year trend line. As such, he says investors should stay bullish.
Meanwhile, CoinTelegraph is putting together a series of analysts’ comments that point to an incoming bullish trend. The site is pointing to commentary by the likes of pseudonymous analyst Tech Dev and Nunya Bizniz, which suggest that Bitcoin is behaving similarly to how it was ahead of the 2017 breakout.
Bears Worry BTC’s Momentum Will Continue Downward Into 2022
These bullish takes are not representative of the whole market; there are still a handful of analysts who think this is only the beginning of a market downturn.
Michaël van de Poppe, a well-known crypto analyst in his own right, is sure that the new year means further losses for BTC. On his YouTube channel, van de Poppe looked at some charts showing increasing lower support levels; while he remains ahold of his Bitcoin holdings, he is not confident in the currency remaining above some crucial support levels.
Moreover, van de Poppe thinks there is more than technical analysis that stands to hold Bitcoin down in the new year. The massive upswing in coronavirus cases as a result of the omicron variant are driving macroeconomic factors that will hold down BTC prices going forward, argues van de Poppe.
And he is not alone, either. A previously bullish Kraken CEO, Jesse Powell, is also skeptical of a Bitcoin price recovery in the immediate future. A handful of weeks ago, Powell revoked his $100,000 price prediction for the coin by the end of the year; now, he says he could see Bitcoin dropping below $40,000 this winter.
On the date of publication, Brenden Rearick did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
