Crypto's Long Winter Is Over - Bitcoin Is Heating Up Fast

In the cryptocurrency realm, folks who ardently refuse to sell their Bitcoin are referred to as "HODLers" (as in, "holding on for dear life").

But even the most bullish among them would have to concede it's been a horror-fest-worthy 15 months for that bellwether of the alluring-but-controversial cryptocurrency market.

Or at least, it was until last Tuesday...

The crypto that "started it all" has enjoyed a convincing, sustained rally - a tad less than 28% - in the week since.

Ethereum (ETH) and XRP, the No. 2 and No. 3 crypto coins by market cap, have also notched big weekly gains of around 27% and 16%, respectively.

The surge triggered a massive media response, and two questions dominated the headlines:

  • Just what, exactly, ignited this run-up?
  • And is it sustainable?

Now, I'll be the first to concede that I'm not a cryptocurrency expert.

Fortunately, I don't have to be.

One of my colleagues here at Money Map Press is viewed as one of the top crypto journalists and analysts in the business today.

In 2019, that's really saying something.

He's the guy a lot of our own experts go to for intelligence on the "nuances" of Bitcoin and its brethren. And his work and social media posts are respected and widely followed in the crypto community.

So I turned to him to make sense of it all.

I'm really excited to share what he had to say...

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In the Court of the "Crypto King"

As we've been saying for five years, investors ignore cryptocurrencies and the blockchain at their own peril.

It's certainly not an investment to "bet the farm on" yet, but the gains - which, as we all remember, made savvy investors tens of thousands times their money at the peak - are too juicy too ignore.

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And we've just barely scratched the surface of the disruptive, industry-smashing profit potential of the blockchain technology "underneath" cryptos - profits that will come no matter what happens to coin prices.

There's no one better to tell us exactly what's happening in crypto right now than Money Morning Associate Editor David Zeiler, a gent many of you will recognize as my wingman on the "Lightning Round" videos - especially the Bitcoin Lightning Round from January.

Before we drill down on what Dave sees in the crypto market, let me first take a quick moment to explain why he's a guy you ought to know...

Dave was already a renowned expert on Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) when he joined Money Map Press. While working at The Baltimore Sun, he ran an Apple blog noteworthy enough that the company itself followed his work, to the point where Dave scored an in-person sit-down interview with legendary Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak.

After joining us here, and in just a few short years, Dave has become one of the most prescient, most widely read chroniclers on cryptocurrencies. He amassed his expertise the "right" way - through immersion.

In short, Dave talks the talk because he's walked the walk. He was one of the early Bitcoin "miners," back when it was still possible for an individual investor to be a go-it-alone cryptocurrency prospector.

Since then, as an Associate Editor at Money Morning, Dave has become one of the industry's foremost cryptocurrency and technology writers and analysts.

And he's made some stunning calls along the way.

In early 2016, when Bitcoin was trading at $450, Dave predicted - on the record - that the crypto coin could zoom to $2,000, and then go higher from there.

Much higher.

As we know now, Bitcoin did soar - just as he predicted. It zoomed past $19,000 before the crypto market collapsed in January 2018.

After that collapse, Dave predicted that the crypto market would experience an extended malaise, noting that there just weren't any new "triggers" on the near-term horizon.

The new "Lightning Network" is very promising for investors, but it's not fully deployed, he said. And the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission was holding back on approving Bitcoin ETFs - a "trigger" he said would have a big, big impact when it came to pass.

Indeed, back in September, Dave penned an incisive, tell-it-like-it-is open letter to the SEC, explaining why the watchdog needed to get in gear and approve a Bitcoin ETF "yesterday."

And while he said that a rally wasn't in the immediate offing, Dave also dismissed the "gloom and doom" prognosticators who said that cryptocurrencies would completely implode.

Powerful "Triggers" to Hit High Price Targets

After watching this recent rally, I knew every single one of our readers had to hear from Dave.

"It's the real deal, Bill," Dave told me Wednesday evening. "The recent pop in the price of Bitcoin is significant because it signals the end of 'Crypto Winter' - the massive months-long decline followed by months of sideways trading, in the wake of the December 2017 trading peak. And sure enough, just about every crypto is booming - that's right, booming - now that Bitcoin has broken out. Some coins have gained 20%, 30% and even 50% just in the past couple of days."

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If you perused the news reports for "the reason" for the rally, you'd find explanations ranging from short squeezes to speculation that some group or other had offered sacrifices to the ancient gods of Mount Olympus.

"Look, I know there's been all sorts of speculation - all sorts of 'real reasons' identified for what we saw." Dave told me.

"Here's what we're really looking at. The unexpected surge this week was apparently caused by one or more 'whales' - heavyweight traders - simultaneously placing 'Buy' orders for Bitcoin at multiple exchanges to the tune of $100 million. This was enough to reverse market sentiment."

As Dave's been saying for months now, he's been looking for a "trigger" that would ignite the sentiment change and reverse the downtrend.

And it's finally happened.

Now it's time to predict where we go from here. And so-called "FOMO" - fear of missing out - will be a factor, Dave insists.

"Bill, this reversal is important," he said. "It tells me we're going to see Bitcoin move higher this year - at least to the previous 'support level' of $6,000, and possibly to $10,000 by December. Then again, the market could take off like it did in 2017. As we've seen many times recently - with stocks, with cryptocurrencies, and with other assets, once 'FOMO' takes over, the sky is the limit."

Stunning: New Innovation Will Be Like "Adding Twin Turbos to the Bitcoin Engine" - and Could Send Its Price to $100,000. Learn More...

There have been lots of predictions this rally will be fleeting. But Dave doesn't see it that way.

"I've seen the same analyses you have, Bill, but I have issues with most of these bearish ones," he explained. "Fact of the matter is, I see at least a couple of reasons why this most recent gain is likely to 'stick,' instead of rolling over and giving way to a sharp pullback - as we saw so often in 2018."

And those two reasons are pretty clear.

"If you look at this, the 'technicals' - the charts - had suggested a move to the upside," Dave said. "More importantly, though, there's the approach of next the 'halving event,' which will happen in May 2020. That's when the mining 'reward' for solving a block in the Bitcoin blockchain gets cut in half. This time it will drop from 12.5 BTC to 6.25 BTC. In the two previous halving events, the Bitcoin price began to rise about a year ahead of the actual event as the market anticipated a tightening supply. Not to oversimplify, but that's Econ 101."

"If Bitcoin follows the historic pattern, we're in the early stages of yet another bull market," Dave said.

Those are the near-term and intermediate-term catalysts.

Dave stressed the importance of keeping the longer-term "triggers" in mind.

"We still do have the longer-term catalysts that I've long believed would ultimately push Bitcoin higher," he explained. "Here we're talking about continued progress on the Lightning Network and the growing interest of institutional investors, who remain shy about crypto but definitely curious. The SEC also made some moves this week, suggesting it is looking for ways to regulate crypto without stifling it. I believe it ultimately will approve a Bitcoin ETF."

The takeaway here is that this rally is the real thing - and that this is the perfect entry point for folks who sat out the last explosive bull in 2017.

So Here's How to Get Started

The first order of business is to nab the two free Money Morning downloads Dave authored:

Dave's also a big believer in the profit potential of the "blockchain" - the technical backbone that makes Bitcoin so potentially useful. He detailed some of his top blockchain plays in this report - which is also available for free.

"A while back, Bill, you did a Private Briefing column on the "history of money," and you argued that the transition to digital currencies is a natural one, capitalizing on today's technological advances and catering to today's transactional and value-storing needs," Dave recalled.

"That's powerful stuff, because it simply but fully explains why the crypto movement is a real thing, and isn't any different than the introduction of coins, paper money, credit cards, or financing vehicles like stocks or bonds. If anything, Bitcoin is more robust and has more potential. And that makes it a wealth window folks don't want to miss."

The Shocking Reason Why We Think Bitcoin Could Hit $100,000 (and How You Could Make Millions)

Cryptocurrency legend Michael Robinson just revealed the little-known details regarding the future of Bitcoin... and why at any moment, it could be poised for a record-breaking rebound far beyond anything we've witnessed already.

Michael made a prediction about Bitcoin way back in 2013 - and folks who followed his advice stood to become 253 times richer. I'd venture to say not one in 10,000 people are aware of the massive profit potential unfolding right now.

Before the mainstream public gets any wiser, you need to see this now.

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About the Author

Before he moved into the investment-research business in 2005, William (Bill) Patalon III spent 22 years as an award-winning financial reporter, columnist, and editor. Today he is the Executive Editor and Senior Research Analyst for Money Morning at Money Map Press.

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