Part 2 of our 4-part review of crypto in 2018 takes in April to June, a time where a bear market was confirmed, Ian Balina was careless on camera, and Bitcoin got the Buffett-Munger-Gates treatment.
April
April began with Bitcoin having been dumped down to around $6,500 following a post-bubble crash, with talk of a prolonged bear market gathering pace since the massive correction. The first half of the month saw some volatility before, almost out of nowhere, the bulls took over and ramped the price up $1,000 in 24 hours.
This unprecedented jump brought smiles back to the faces of investors and kick-started a three-week uptrend, which took prices up 60% on average and looked to have banished the prospect of a bear market.
April’s positive price action was mirrored by some equally positive fundamental news in the form of the Rockefellers announcing that they were getting into cryptocurrency via their venture capital arm Venrock – joining the Soros’ and Rothschilds in investing in the market. This is on top of Goldman Sachs hiring a ‘VP of Digital Assets’. This was also the month that poor Ian Balina, the ICO hype machine, got his wallet hacked for $2 million during a livestream… allegedly.
Ian Balina Loses $2M in Hack, But Not Everyone’s Convinced https://t.co/P5r5lwwTYe #newsoftheweek #Bitcoin #blockchain #crypto #cryptocurrency #news pic.twitter.com/UvbCVQ9Snt
— Remi Vee ?️ (@Remi_Vladuceanu) 19 April 2018
May
May began promisingly, with Bitcoin briefly testing $10,000 again, but this was as good as it was going to get for a while. Valuations slowly tumbled as the month went on, with Bitcoin falling 25% in three weeks, wiping out most of April and May’s gains, helped on the way down by Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, and Charlie Munger taking sledgehammers to Bitcoin in a TV interview.
Even the much vaunted ‘Consensus pump’ failed to materialize, by which time it was clear that the good times were over and the market was in a confirmed downtrend. Cryptocurrencies were also at the receiving end of a roasting from John Oliver, particularly EOS, which put the nail in the coffin for many investors.
May also saw the launch of Telegram’s epic $1.7 billion ICO. While the New York Times reported that Goldman Sachs and ICE, the owners of the New York Stock Exchange, were interested in opening a cryptocurrency trading desk and trading platform respectively, news which both surprised and pleased beleaguered investors. Even though this news wasn’t enough to avert the tumbling prices, it nevertheless provided further evidence of the long-term prospects of cryptocurrencies.
June
If there were any doubts, June confirmed a cryptocurrency bear market had arrived. More than $120 billion flowed out of the market during the month, with many taking out what little profits they had left in preparation for further downwards price action. Bitcoin saw $2,000 shaved off its price during June, before a short rally saw it end the month just under $6,500. By this point, many alts were around 90% down on their January peak, much to the despair of holders.
Many that bought in during the hype had realized their mistake and sold at huge losses. June also saw the phenomenon that was CryptoKitties crash the Ethereum network, proving that serious scaling work was required before cryptocurrencies were ready for the masses.
CryptoKitties would have gone viral and brought crypto to the mainstream if not for the throughput problems of Ethereum.
Just something to keep in mind.
— Punished Roy (@StartaleTV) 27 June 2018
Despite the negativity in the markets, the good news was still piling up – South Korea announced that it was looking to re-legalize ICOs, an SEC member said that Ethereum was not a security, Mastercard applied for a blockchain payment patent and two companies called VanEck, and SolidX came together to file for a Bitcoin ETF to much fanfare.
The media were giving Bitcoin its last rites, again, but behind the headlines showed a growing acceptance from hedge funds, banks, and investment companies of the potential that blockchain and cryptocurrency presented. This level of backing showed the world that it might just be here to stay.
