February 2018: the Month of the Rebound (Conferences, Futures, Trends, and Regulation)

February should be one of the best month’s on record for the cryptocurrency world. Within two weeks the Dallas SuperConference approaches and it has already completely sold out and an alternative venue cleverly named the “Soft Fork” convention, is also almost sold out. Between conferences, positive government regulation, and futures traders pushing the market North we should be in store for a rebound we all deserve.

State of the Market

The current market capitalization of the entire crypto market is approximately $430 billion according to Coinmarketcap, a sharp decline from January 7 when the market cap had just surpassed $800 billion. In the last three weeks there has been an almost a 50 percent correction. However, corrections of this magnitude, although scary, are very healthy for the market. Bitcoin (BTC) and the entire crypto market had a unfathomable growth rate for 2017.

What goes up must eventually come down. However, what goes down must also eventually go back up. Bitcoin and the crypto markets as a whole have had multiple instances where they’ve decreased by 30-60 percent in the last two years. These huge corrections are followed by new all-time highs (ATHs) within sixty days.

If BTC and the crypto markets continue to follow this trend the month of February shall be one of the most bullish months on record with the crypto markets hitting their new ATH between March and May. Larger corrections generally take a longer period of time to recover, but February has many catalysts that should jump-start the rebound and end the January bear raid.

Most weak hands are shaking currently. No one enjoys losing 30-60 percent of their portfolio in one month. However, those same people need to realize they were making 100 percent a month, month over month, for almost a year. Corrections do take place. They must be expected so when they occur there is not panic throughout the entire investment space. Most individuals get accustomed to their gains and refuse to expect losses. This is investing; there are many swings.

Crypto is closer to gambling than investing, and in gambling the swings are a roller coaster ride. In the crypto trading space, you have to expect to have 100 percent months but also have months where you lose 50 percent. January was the month of FUD, with horrible news coming out of South Korea, China and India to start the month. January is also customarily the month financial markets correct around the world (following their boom around the Christmas holidays). The crypto markets adopted this trend this year (and prior years) resulting in a sharp correction this prior month. However, February has many catalysts that should create a rebound of equal proportions.

February Catalysts

The strongest catalysts for February include; the futures trader betting BTC increases in value, conferences, and prior trends. Each of these catalysts individually may not have provided significant market momentum, but when all three are coupled together, it becomes obvious the amount of movement North February shall provide.

The Dallas SuperConference was sold out weeks in advance. This will be the largest crypto conference in history! The publicity surrounding this event coupled with the number of attendees will increase demand for cryptos across the entire market. However, the Dallas SuperConference is the second conference occurring that weekend. The conference taking place in Acapulco is where the more “anarchist” styled individuals in the movement will be presenting. Both conferences will be providing a significant boost in publicity.

Besides the Acapulco and Dallas conference, there are many more every weekend prior and following these two conferences. Last month the futures traders bet BTC would decrease under $10,000 and the day of option expiration the price collapsed under $10,000 allowing the futures traders to profit on their final day of expiration. This was not coincidental and was easily caused by manipulation.

However, this month they are betting BTC will increase in value, which means the manipulation we felt in January as downward pressure will, in turn, be upward pressure boosting the price of BTC in February, not collapsing it. The trend is when BTC and the crypto markets hit ATHs they retract 40-60 percent (usually in January and over summer). However, immediately following this correction new ATHs are approached within 60 days. The correction has occurred, the bull market trend should begin any day now.

Conferences in February

February is the month of conferences. Every weekend has at least one conference in a major city on a different continent for the entire month. The Dallas SuperConference is by far the largest, but the publicity around the globe the others provide will yield massive positive news coverage and publicity:

February 1: Cryptoassets Conference, Vancouver, CA

February 1: CryptoCon, San Francisco, CA

February 5: Blockchain in Energy Conference, Amsterdam

February 5: Second Blockchain Middle East Forum

February 7: “Fintech World” Blockchain and Tokenomics 101, New York, NY

February 8: Blockchain and BTC Conference, Gibraltar

February 10: Cryptario Online Summit

February 13: Blockchain Conference, St. Petersburg

February 16: Dubai FX and Cryptocurrency and ICO Show, DUBAI, UAE

February 16: The Bitcoin, Ethereum & Blockchain SuperConference, Dallas, TX

February 21: Blockchain and Bitcoin Conference, Switzerland

February 22: Blockchain and Bitcoin Conference, Bengaluru

February 23: EnHack 2018, Essen, Germany

February 23: Blockchain and Cryptocurrency con 2018, Dallas, TX

February 24: NAC3 New York City, New York, New York

February 27: Blockchain in Healthcare West Conference, San Francisco, CA

February 28: Gibraltar International FinTech Forum, Gibraltar

March 1: Blockchain and Bitcoin Conference Turkey, Istanbul Turkey

March 1: International Blockchain Summit Moscow, Moscow, Russia

Have you tried counting that list of conferences? It literally is so large it takes two checks to ensure you have the number correct. It seems beyond obvious that this number of conferences in February alone, across the globe, demonstrates that blockchain is not a waning technology on its way out. But has solidified its presence. The sheer amount of publicity that should be generated by having 10+ conferences in one month is unfathomable. There is hardly a period of three days where there aren’t overlapping conferences.

The price of bitcoin and the crypto markets will soon directly reflect the amount of new investors these conferences bring in while reestablishing the faith shaken from many of the weak hands in January. The conferences will be the first tangible events that bring publicity, new traders, and in turn new money into the crypto space. The biggest of them all. The Dallas SuperConference.

The Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Blockchain SuperConference in Dallas

This is expected to be the largest Blockchain conference to date and sold out so quickly that the hosts opened a second venue they are calling the “Soft Fork.” People are actually paying $647 to attend the alternative conference. The tickets to the Soft Fork do not allow you to attend the SuperConference at a separate venue but is the solely “spillover” from the original conference that didn’t purchase tickets in a timely manner. This shows there is extreme demand for space at the conference and Bitcoin in general.

The media is portraying a bleak situation following a 50 percent correction, but that same media at the end of December was saying how BTC was going to approach $100,000. If traders have not learned by now, it is always best to fade public sentiment. In December when there was nothing but positive news we should have been selling, to repurchase in January when sentiment was most negative. Right now sentiment is the most negative it’s been in a year, with a 50 percent correction having just occurred. This is the time to purchase and enjoy the bull market rally through sold-out conferences and forked venues.

The main event is being held at the Dallas Fort-Worth Airport Marriott North. The Soft fork is being held at the Sheraton Dallas Fort-Worth Airport Hotel. These are two massive venues that intend to hold thousands and thousands of BTC and blockchain crazed individuals. The speakers at this venue are all headline names in the blockchain industry. From the founders in the collegiate landscape like Tim Draper to the most controversial names in crypto like John McAfee. There will also be many coin founders and their teams presenting during this multiple day event. The name “SuperConference” should not go without notice. There will be “super” publicity, significant money flowing into crypto markets, and thousands becoming educated week after week beginning this weekend and leading right through the Dallas SuperConference.

When hands are weak, when there is blood in the streets, the real traders accumulate; this has always been the case. Leading up to the February conferences we’ve had blood in the streets for a month. If you’ve been fleeing instead of accumulating this may not be the correct investment space for you. This space takes incredible courage in the face of volatility but requires you to stay humble during times of 500 percent gains as they can be evaporated in weeks. These conferences will hopefully create a new group of educated investors that can enter the crypto space without the with hands that plagued so many January holders. Besides the upcoming conferences which will provide a clear catalyst to a bull market, it is important to analyze upcoming trends.

Trends

Bitcoin is not unfamiliar with massive corrections. The crypto markets, led by BTC, have had multiple corrections between 40 and 60 percent in the last two years. This specific correction has been on the higher side of prior corrections but was also preceded by the largest market cap climb in crypto history. What occurs following every massive correction to date? New ATHs. All-time highs are approached within sixty days of the end of each prior correction.

The King cannot guarantee the market will turn today, or tomorrow, but what is evident is the trends following massive corrections point to a bullish market. The crypto markets move very quickly compared to the stock markets where corrections can take months, if not years to complete, the crypto space works ten times faster-earning returns in the 100s of percent but also correcting 50 percent in less than two months. BTC along with the entire crypto markets regularly have these huge corrections but also regular have bullish trends that immediately follow. The King expects this trend to continue, with a significant bull rally following this 50 percent correction.

Futures Traders

It is common knowledge the largest institutional investors are using futures as an entry point into the crypto market, specifically for BTC. What is also not surprising is they bet BTC would decrease in price from its high of $19,000 in December through January’s future expiration. What was witnessed in January was on both dates of future expiration, the price of bitcoin was pushed under $10,000 allowing the futures traders to capitalize on massive trades. This was preempted by a sharp rise in price and public sentiment, before removing the rug and having everything come crashing down.

Now we have the opposite approach being taken by futures traders. There is negative sentiment, the public is scared, and they’ve bet BTC will rise this month compared to January when they bet it would fall. The entire month of January the market felt downward pressure from these institutions, shaking out many weak hands. However, February should be the exact opposite. Future traders bet on BTC appreciating which means instead of holding the roof down; they should be supporting it from the floor. There were green days immediately prior to massive corrections throughout January, and the King believes these current red days beginning February are exactly that. The calm before the storm.

The January storm forced the price South. The February storm being propped by the futures traders will force BTC and the entire market cap of the crypto market higher instead of pressuring it downward.

Regulation

Most in crypto are scared of regulation as it goes against what cryptocurrencies stand for. However, if individuals want crypto to be considered a legitimate investment and be treated similarly to stocks there needs to be some level of protections. The only ways to enforce that founders adhere to their white papers, and that trading isn’t taking place illegally is if individuals can be held liable under securities laws. However, with no securities laws in place regarding cryptocurrencies as of a few years ago, this is a rapidly developing field in law. South Korea, who was threatening to ban cryptos outright decided on a very logical approach to regulating it.

The King expects the remainder of countries to follow suit because this will allow countries to earn taxes on trading, be able to hold founders liable for scam/fraud and provide a level of protection that has not been seen in crypto. The ongoing debate between regulation and free markets is constant in the crypto space, but one thing is very clear. If you want more protections as a consumer (a trader), there must be more regulations.

If you don’t mind being swindled out of the occasional ICO or having a coin turn out to be a complete fraud, continue to support lack of regulation. However, as crypto becomes more legitimate, regulations will be the foundation that allows them to enter the mainstream for hesitant institutional investors.

Conclusion

February should begin a bull rally that makes up for a significant portion of the correction we’ve witnessed in December and January. The trends speak for themselves in financial markets and crypto markets, almost every year January there is a massive correction, and February is the rebound. This year seemed no different but was more exacerbated because of the rapid climb of BTC in the months leading up to the correction.

Trends demonstrate without other catalysts the crypto markets should recover significantly in the next few days to the next few weeks. When one considers that the conference schedule is almost a page long for one month, with most already sold out, it becomes evident there are catalysts to facilitate this bull rally.

Institutional investors have manipulatory powers that cannot even be fathomed unless you spend days gazing at the charts, or look what they do on the days’ futures expire! This month instead of manipulating downward, they will be manipulating upward.

Regulations coming together to allow traders to actively participate in these markets without outright bans is also another huge success for the industry. February has many catalysts; futures traders, conferences, trends, and even regulation that should lead to it being the beginning of a major bull rally! The King expects the $1 trillion market cap, of all cryptos, to be approached and surpassed prior to the following correction which statistically (and historically) occurs over Summer.

To read the King’s prior articles, to find out which ICOs he currently recommends, or to get in contact directly with the King, you can on Twitter (@JbtheCryptoKing) or Reddit (ICO updates and Daily Reports).