Despite the failure of almost every prediction in 2018, some commentators aren’t shy on providing their forecasts for Bitcoin in 2019. A panel of experts convened by Australian online comparison platform Finder.com.au, say the price of the top-ranked cryptocurrency could rise by as much as 84 percent.

Bitcoin at $7,000 Before the End of 2019?

Towards the end of 2017 and for a significant portion of 2018, numerous experts continued to post highly optimistic BTC price predictions. However, these bullish sentiments didn’t translate to the reality of BTC’s price action for 2018.

Recently, Finder.com.au brought together six experts to get their take on the predicted trajectory for BTC in the new year. Fred Schebesta, a co-founder of HiveEx.com and Finder.com.au, said millennials would drive Bitcoin investment.

According to Schebesta, millennials are aware that there is a different set of market dynamics at play in the present times than there was for their parents. Elaborating further, HiveEx chief said:

“Millennials are particularly open to embracing crypto in order to accumulate wealth for themselves. They’ve grown up with digital technology, so it’s little wonder they want to get involved in digital currency. They are looking at investing very differently to their parents.”

For Ben Ritchie of Digital Capital Management, the top-ranked cryptocurrency will close out the year at $9,500. Ritchie believes Bitcoin will experience slow but steady growth buoyed on by developments like the Bakkt futures and Fidelity custody launches.

Commenting further, Ritchie laid out two essential indices to monitor in 2019, saying:

“Two things to look out for in 2019 will be whether we will see decoupling of the cryptocurrencies, as to date they have trended in a relatively similar manner. The second is the impact of the traditional markets on cryptocurrencies. Will Bitcoin rise if the S&P drops? On-ramp and off-ramps to purchasing cryptocurrencies will improve in 2019 with Bakkt and Fidelity Group entering the market.”

On the average, the panel of experts forecasts that Bitcoin will end the year trading significantly higher than its present price. However, none of the six participants predicted a new all-time high for BTC in 2019. The mean value of all six forecasts suggests an 84 percent price increase to $7,000.

BTC was last at the $7,000 price range at the start of September 2018 before dipping slightly to the mid-$6,000 level. The top-ranked cryptocurrency held this price mark until the mid-November crash which nearly took the price below $3,000.

Bottoming Out

Bitcoin is currently trading in the mid-$3,000 range with some commentators insisting that a price bottom hasn’t been attained. Most experts agree that any significant bull rally will only occur after BTC bottoms out followed by a period of steady accumulation.

At the start of February 2019, BTC set a new record for the longest running bear market in its decade-long history. Bitcoin has now been in a bear market for 414 days and counting. Relying on historical trends, the present expectation is that the top-ranked cryptocurrency should be close to establishing a long-term bottom price.

Today, we're creating history with 411 days of bear market and the longest since #Bitcoin was born.

No one can tell us exactly when is going to end, but it is important to remaining focused on the long-term and remember that it cannot last forever. pic.twitter.com/IkDFwnnRN5 — Galaxy (@galaxyBTC) February 1, 2019

According to data from Blockchain.com, trading volume is at its lowest level since mid-2017. At that time, BTC hovered below the $2,000 mark on its way to setting a new all-time high barely six months later.

While trading volume remains, low, average transactions per day continue to increase indicating that despite trading fatigue, significant accumulation is currently ongoing. If this interpretation is accurate, then there might be a further downward slip or two followed by an intermediate sideways trading phase before the next positive price breakout.