Bitcoin has been rallying hard so far this year but the latest bull run, which has seen the bitcoin price soar by around 200% in just six months, could be coming to an end.
The bitcoin price, which is now hovering just under $10,000 per bitcoin, has climbed so far this year mostly due to expectations the world’s biggest technology companies, led by social media giant Facebook, could be about to dive headfirst into bitcoin and cryptocurrencies.
Now, it seems bitcoin could be headed for a sudden fall, with technical data suggesting the bitcoin price could be about to move sharply lower.
Bitcoin earlier this week broke below its 50-day moving average, which it’s thought could mean the bull run that saw the bitcoin price rise from under $4,000 per bitcoin at the beginning of the year to almost $14,000 could be over.
Bitcoin price data also shows it’s trading under the lower limit of the closely watched GTI Vera Band indicator, it was first reported by Bloomberg, a financial newswire.
The bitcoin price began climbing earlier this year as the likes of iPhone maker Apple, micro-blogging platform Twitter, and Facebook looked to bitcoin and cryptocurrencies as a potential new revenue stream.
However, the rally was halted in its tracks after regulators around the world poured cold water on Facebook’s ambitious plans to issue its own cryptocurrency, libra, some time next year.
It’s now thought that regulatory issues could completely derail Facebook’s libra project, though it says it’s committed to working with lawmakers around the world to make libra a reality.
“There can be no assurance that libra or our associated products and services will be made available in a timely manner, or at all,” Facebook said.
“[Bitcoin] stands at a key technical juncture,” Miller Tabak + Co.’s equity strategist Matt Maley was quoted by Bloomberg. “[Greater regulatory scrutiny] will become an even more prominent issue (much more prominent) once we move past the summer recess for Congress and into the meat of the 2020 election cycle.”
Bitcoin was pushed into the limelight earlier this month by U.S. president Donald Trump when he unleashed a scathing attack on bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, branding them “unregulated assets” in a series of tweets.
Following Trump’s attack and warnings from other global regulators, forensic accountancy firm BTVK warned the bitcoin and crypto “wild west” could be coming to an end, with global regulators closing in on bitcoin and cryptocurrency exchanges as a result of the spotlight brought by Facebook’s libra project.
Some U.S. presidential hopefuls have though said they’d support bitcoin and the creation of other cryptocurrencies to rival the U.S. dollar, potentially turning bitcoin and crypto into a 2020 election issue.
Earlier today, U.S. lawmakers grilled bitcoin, cryptocurrency, and blockchain experts on how Facebook’s libra could upset the U.S. economy.
“It’s clear that digital assets don’t really fit in our current financial system, as the current regulatory framework is awkwardly divided between banking regulators and market regulators,” said Christine Trent Parker, partner at law firm Reed Smith, following the hearing.
“It is unfortunate that today’s hearing made clear that Congress is not going to move forward any time soon in rectifying this issue and that in fact, the lack of clarity and uniformity may be intentional to hamper the ability of U.S. consumers to access (and benefit from) these technologies.”
Some bitcoin and cryptocurrency analysts remain upbeat, however, despite regulatory fears.
“Volumes continue to decline in the crypto market as the cool-down seems to be coming to completion,” Mati Greenspan, senior market analyst at brokerage eToro, wrote in a note to clients.
Author: Billy Bambrough
Read more at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/billybambrough/2019/07/30/new-data-reveals-serious-bitcoin-warning/#46364bfb7cd7
