A panel of experts has weighed in on whether the Bitcoin price will top its all-time high this bull run – and the potential for another market crash.
A majority of fintech experts surveyed by Finder.com predict the Bitcoin price won’t top its all-time high of around $20,000 this bull run.
More worrying for Bitcoin investors, almost 50% of the panel are tipping a market crash will follow.
These are the headline findings from Finder.com’s May survey of ten cryptocurrency market experts.
Bitcoin price prediction: buy or sell?
Around 50 percent have a buy recommendation on Bitcoin, with three recommending holding and two advising to sell now.
The average Bitcoin price prediction for the end of the year was $9659 – but opinions varied widely.
Nafis Alam, associate professor at Henley Business School, is tipping the Bitcoin price will plunge to $4000 by December 31.
Technologist Joseph Raczynski believes it is time to let the price settle down a bit after a huge run-up.
“BTC historically runs in spurts, but there are rumors that whales are prepping to sell nearly a billion in BTC, ETH and Ripple. Flush them out, and in time BTC will rise,” he said
A substantial minority of the panel (40%) do believe Bitcoin will top its all-time high this bull run.
Short term Bitcoin price predictions ‘aren’t practical’
Arca Chief Investment Officer Jeff Dorman declined to predict a price.
“Making short-term price predictions isn’t practical,” he said. ” Making probability-weighted investment decisions is better. And right now, it is a good risk–reward to continue to accumulate BTC.
“One BTC will always equal 1 BTC. Pricing BTC in terms of USD is dependent on a lot of things, including the inevitable weakness of the USD caused by unsustainable debt and inflation.”
Reasons behind the Bitcoin bull run rally
The price of Bitcoin has surged more than 40% in the past month, with eight out of ten panelists attributing the surge to announcements made by companies including Microsoft and Bakkt at Consensus 2019 in New York.
BitBull Capital Chief Operating Officer Sarah Bergstrand points out that in most years the event has been held, the price of Bitcoin and the overall market cap has spiked.
“It also tends to fall as soon as the conference is over,” she added.
US-China trade war and halving also factors for Bitcoin price
Investors’ ‘flight to safety’ caused by the US-China trade war and the effect of upcoming block reward halving in a year’s time, were both cited by 50% of the panel as major factors.
Three panelists believe the ongoing embrace of cryptocurrency by institutional investors played a big role in the rally, while two experts tipped improved sentiment among retail investors.
But it could be the NASDAQ or even Russia …
A few panelists struct out with unique theories: University of Saskatchewan PHD candidate Ajay Shrestha believes its due to the NASDAQ preparing to introduce cryptocurrency trading.
Alam thinks a factor could be an impending financial crisis, while Rouge Ventures Managing Director Desmond Marshall thinks Russia going full force in supporting crypto is a key reason for the price surge.
What’s next?
Digital Capital Management Chief Operating Officer Ben Ritchie said that the fundamentals in terms of utility and adoption have improved significantly over the bear market.
“Now that sentiment has returned, so does its medium to long outlook,” he said.
WishKnish CEO Alisa Gus thinks BTC is now trading “where it belongs” in the $6000 to $10,000 range and recommends holding.
“While, eventually, I do see it rising past $10K for a long-term gain, it shouldn’t be anytime soon — if it does, it is unlikely to hold on to that level for long,” Gus said.
“Let the market rest a bit after the rally.”
Instructor at Programming Blockchain and well known crypto personality, Jimmy Song, believes Bitcoin is a long term play. “Bitcoin has real decentralized scarcity. Long term, it’s a good bet,” he said.
Bitcoin price could crash, but will change the world long term
Finder.com and HiveEx founder Fred Schebesta said the value of Bitcoin remained speculative.
“While I believe Bitcoin will rise a little further this year, usability still has a long way to go before real value will exist,” he said.
“It is also possible that we may see another crash like what we saw in December 2017, when BTC dropped by roughly 40% within a few days. But long-term, bitcoin and other digital currencies are very likely to stick around and change the way we do banking.”
