The end of last year boasted bloated BTC value of about twenty thousand dollars at its peak. Such a dramatic gain was unprecedented. In contrast, the beginning of 2018 has marked one of the worst QI performances bitcoin has ever had. The first three months of the year marked a drop of fifty percent for the cryptocurrency. According to the Bitcoin Price Index, the reduction in value by half is the second worse performance the cryptocurrency has endured. The first place contender being a third-quarter drop of 68 percent back in 2011. The 2011 drop brought BTC down to $5.14 from just over $16. The first quarter of the year has never been a season of gains for the BTC. That trend has been consistent since 2013. Moreover, the fifty percent decline makes sense when you consider the record highs of 2017.
January
In January 2018 BTC investors were met with a fall of nearly 44 percent in the cryptocurrency’s value. This excited some who bought into bitcoin at comparatively bargain rates, only to see gains leap to over $17,000 by the second week of the month. The initial gain revived hopes that the BTC would soar higher than the original records. Unfortunately, regulatory fears fueled by South Korea and China drug prices down to under ten thousand by January 17th. Social media giant Facebook’s ban on the cryptocurrency’s advertisements toward the end of the month did not help.
February
February began with a frenzy of people unloading coin and block. Prices dipped to an unnerving six thousand dollars by February 5th. The tumultuous climate of ups and downs continued, with a sharp increase to nearly twelve thousand by February 20th. Optimistic investors looked for record highs once again. However, the trend seemed to cap at $11,700, falling short of the hopes of many.
March
Fear became the bedfellow of block chain teams and bitcoin holders around the world after an additional fall of thirty percent hit BTC in early March. Google and Twitter joined the witch hunt and banned cryptocurrency ads across the board. By the end of March, the climate drug valuation below seven thousand.
March 30th brought confirmation of experts’ observations that the market would see a drop similar to August 2017. However, there has not been a negative impact on bitcoin, perhaps because of its daily strength index and oversold conditions. Also, there has been some normalization in the Kimchi Premium following Korean regulatory changes. The Kimchi Premium is the variation between BTC prices in the Korea and Western markets.
Conclusion
Overall the correlation between bitcoin and the stock market strengthening indicates it is considered a risk asset rather than a safe haven. As we mentioned before, the first quarter of the year has never been optimal for BTC. This year the trend may have been exasperated by ad bans. In the coming months, we will all be looking toward what the second quarter will bring. Either way, Bitcoin has remained volatile and the low price right now could very well end up being a great opportunity to buy.
