It has been a tough month for Bitcoin coming away from the winter boom, but there have been several standout moments offering respite from bearish trends and contributing to the current uptrend in the Bitcoin markets.
Firstly, Thomas Lee, the head of research at Fundstrat Global Advisors and his team have released an interesting flow chart (below) that describes the phases of the altcoin market cycle.
While it indicates that the majority of the decline is behind us, their graphs don’t quite inspire an immediate sense of confidence with the purgatory phase apparently in effect and it is still relatively hard to tell when things will begin to look definitively bullish again.
The Risk of Stagnation
How deep this current period will be is still unknown, but it could be noted that markets tend to react swiftly, particularly to positive news, progress in innovations and regulations.
The stakes for blockchain technologies and cryptocurrencies are higher than ever; the past couple of years have seen massive progress with efforts to make the industry more consumer-friendly and regulation-compliant. Despite the scandals of scam ICOs and the recent crackdown on cryptocurrency advertising, the blockchain industry is holding on tight and is more active than ever.
The pressure on altcoins to adapt or die is growing and this slump could spark further indecisiveness and cynicism, dampening the progress that new or established blockchain companies have been making over the past year.
These being worst case scenarios, anything at all can happen in this business, so it’s best to keep an open mind, especially as big organizations, governments, industry heads and key figures are all putting the conversation about cryptocurrencies on the table.
A Good Influence
The G20 Summit is considered partly responsible for the upswing Bitcoin has seen over the past couple of days. Mark Carney, governor of the Bank of England, stated in a letter to G20 finances ministers: “The FSB’s initial assessment is that crypto-assets do not pose risks to global financial stability at this time.”
He continued: “Crypto-assets raise a host of issues around consumer and investor protection, as well as their use to shield illicit activity and for money laundering and terrorist financing. At the same time, the technologies underlying them have the potential to improve the efficiency and inclusiveness of both the financial system and the economy.”
A Little More Conversation and A Lot More Action
If the brains at Fundstrat are correct, then this low period of inactivity and consolidation could be a sluggish ride and set the evolution of this industry back for some time. This is the chance for the industry to begin shaking hands with the regulators, influencers and institutions that can begin to create a space for the technology in the everyday lives of the world.
Conversations such as this may only boost Bitcoin value for so long, however, and the bear market could still very well be in play. But the critical part to take away from all of this is that more and more powerful influencers are talking about how to make cryptocurrencies work.
Now let’s see some action.
