IS BITCOIN DEAD?

IS BITCOIN DEAD?
by Dave's Crypto
(First published on http://davescrypto.com)

Bitcoin, or BTC, was trading at a record high of over $5000 USD on September 1, 2017. Today, under a month later, on September 22, it's trading around the $3600 mark. That's a loss of over $1400 per Bitcoin, or nearly 30%! What's going on? (That's not the worst: it was reported around $2,980 last week!)

Is it cause to panic? Is BTC dead? Dying? Time to sell and cut your losses?

I'm not one to spread unnecessary FUD (Fear, Uncertainly, and Doubt), but this big dip has me concerned. Dips in BTC are very common, even large ones, this is true. This has certainly been the case for the time I've been learning about the cryptocurrency world, for over three years. The price of BTC has fluctuated wildly in this time frame.

So, why is this one more worrying? There's a couple of good reasons.

This latest dip is right on the heels of a crackdown on ICOs in China. This was big news and had many shuddering at the prospect of BTC and/or all cryptocurrencies being banned in China, thinking it could be the start of the fall of many dominoes, leading right into their own BTC wallets. Once something of that magnitude were to start, there's no telling where it might end, but I don't think it would be a good for BTC investors.

The second point is that most of the dips in BTC have been short and resulted in an even higher trading price. This is becoming one long dip! It seems to be gaining momentum, as I check the BTC price and see it continuing to head south. Lately, any dips in BTC have been very short-lived and then BTC bounced right back, or usually higher. We've not seen that happen on this big dip, yet.

But this could all be a very good opportunity!

Why would you say that, Dave? Well, isn't the big trading advice to “buy on the dips?” Yes, I think it is, and I still think it's good advice. I can't say for sure if BTC is on its way out, though to most it looks like it is. If you want to believe that, it's up to you, but I think you'd be wise to just hold onto your BTC for now, as historically BTC has always gone up. And if you look at all of the good news around BTC, and the forecasts, you may also think that it's going to go up, long-term. That not very comforting in the short-term, I know, when you are seeing your investment losing value...

But if you want to sell now and cash out “before you lose everything” then that would also be a good thing – good for those who are waiting to pick up your BTC cheap! I'll remind you of some predictions by some quite smart people that we are still only in the very early days of BTC and cryptos, and BTC is poised to go up very high in value when mass use of it takes place.

Is mass use of BTC still going to happen? I think so. I think it's only a matter of time. But there are no guarantees in this game, only smart bets. Many say BTC is a long-term investment and you should not worry about the dips. Focus on the future, they say. That may be a very good thing to do, as it will stop you from selling off your BTC when they hit a dip. It's up to you and how much risk you can stand.

I think it's this risk that keeps many away from BTC right now, and causes them to speak about it in unflattering terms (to be mild about it). Fear can make people do crazy things, like selling of their BTCs when the price goes down, and also not buying BTC in the first place, as they don't recognize a very great potential opportunity when they see it. I'm still trying to live down the fact that I didn't get into BTC when it was so very, very cheap!

I like the idea of buying low, on the dips. We now have a big dip in front of us. There will be some who panic and sell, but that will be great for those who are waiting to buy some more BTC at a lower price than we've been seeing lately. In the end, it's up to you and what you can stomach.

People do things for many different reasons and I'm not going to tell them that selling off BTC now is wrong (maybe they need the money), but I don't think it's a great move. The future may prove my view to be correct or not, but with all things BTC and crypto “we'll see!”

This is not investment advice, just my opinion. Take it or leave it.

“To the moon!”
-Dave

Dave's Crypto
http://davescrypto.com

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