Cryptocurrency trader Ran Neu-Ner believes that bitcoin may hit new lows, but that long-term the market is still in its infancy.

In a broad-ranging conversation on CNBC’s Fast Money yesterday, the CEO of blockchain investment company Onchain Capital, offered some insight into the current state of the bitcoin market and what the future holds for cryptocurrency industry as a whole.

Asked what he thinks triggered the weekend’s market-wide dip in prices – widely rumoured to be related to the $40m hack of South Korean exchange Coinrail – Neu-Ner offered a different perspective:

“it’s the exchanges and how they are storing their coins..if you look at this exchange that got hacked this weekend, it’s a small exchange it’s probably the hundredth biggest exchange in the world, and it got hacked for $40m…a very small hack in the big scheme of things”

And, in one of several comparisons to traditional finance, he pointed out:

“the last time I checked when a bank got robbed I didn’t go and sell all of my US dollars… I think the exchange hack was coincidental.”

Long-term Perspective

More broadly, the crypto investor was keen to look to the bigger picture – arguing that the market should be prepared for further dips.

Noting the possibility of bitcoin testing the $5,900 level if the current bearish trend continues, Neu-Ner was nonetheless keen to point out that while these kinds of fluctuations might deter day traders, long-term investors and believers in blockchain should look to the broader future of the market:

“we’re an industry in its infancy. We're the internet before you had a real browser…people are talking about a few exchange hacks. Those are to be expected from an industry that's got a market capitalization of $300 billion; when we expect that one day this thing is going to have $20 trillion.”

With many attributing the recent price slump to the CTFC’s investigation into possible market manipulation by some leading exchanges, prices have recovered somewhat since Monday’s low – with bitcoin currently trading at $6832 according to CryptoCompare.