It's a new year, and when the previous year saw record highs set for every major crypto asset, people naturally wonder if a bearish market is around the corner. 

Like every market, eventually it will be our turn, thankfully crypto has a history of fairly short bearish terms followed by a bullish market that exceeds the prior one. 

However, it doesn't look like we're there yet - these 3 indicators would absolutely look different if we were entering a bearish market:

Those Who Recently Sold Aren't Leaving...

Speculative traders who made large sales in December are now re-purchasing, according to analysis by Willy Woo. 

This includes a number of hedge funds who sold in December to take a profit, and are now redeploying their capital.

Long Term Hodlers Continue Accumulating...

We're seeing wallets that hold and do not trade Bitcoin taking advantage of the current price dip to accumulate more.  These are people who have bought Bitcoin and left it untouched for at least 6 months.

This category of trader currently holds the most Bitcoin.

We can logically assume they believe we have not yet seen Bitcoin's all time high, and that the profits possible are so great, they don't bother participating in short-term opportunities to profit by selling and re-buying price swings.

No Increased Inflow To Exchanges...

Bitcoin investors who hold a sizeable amount of coins typically move those coins out of exchange accounts after buying them, and into offline cold storage to keep their coins secure.

This means that before they can sell their coins, they need to first transfer them back to an exchange account for trading - and currently, this is not happening.  

We continue the 2021 trend of more tokens leaving exchanges than being moved back to them.

In Closing...

I am aware, as you should be as well, that things can change fast.  Sometimes triggered by totally irrational panic selling, other times by major real-world events.

The thing is - nobody can plan for things that may or may not come at any time. 

But you can be prepared - while I stand by this report I'd also like to include a reminder to be smart. Set stop-losses, have a plan to make sure if things take a sudden turn, you're walking away with most of what you earned. 

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Author: Mark Pippen
London News Desk 
Breaking Crypto News

If you're like me you still cringe a little when you read a headline like this, I think I'm still traumatized by Tom Lee, Mike Novagratz, and John McAfee's 2017 appearances on CNBC where they seemingly pulled (ridiculously high) numbers out of a hat and read them on-air as their 'expert prediction' - they repeated this weekly for almost an entire year... then the entire market crashed.

So still take this with a grain of salt - but so far, analyst Willy Woo has correctly predicted the bull run we're in right now, and if his predictions remain true for the next year all Bitcoin owners are going to be very happy.

In the first week of October he stated "In my last update the latest impulse was still forming with an expectation that it would be a bullish buying impulse based on early signs of hidden accumulation being seen on exchanges. This has correctly played out.

We are now coasting upwards with no new changes in the short term on-chain structure. I remain bullish and am awaiting any new changes.

Keen observers will notice there is a bullish supporting trend-line in coin movements forming, which I’ll highlight below." Woo also stated "The next 3 months: Coin supply has dried up while demand dominates."

This was in October - so that 3rd month is right now, and his description of today's market is accurate.

Looking Ahead: Bitcoin at $200,000 by The Beginning Of 2022...

Today's market is strong and could act as the solid launching pad we need to take us to the moon.

The current average price a Bitcoin holder paid is $7,456, which is the average of the different lots of BTC, valued at the price they had the last time they were moved "you're all geniuses" he says, pointing out that the average investor has already doubled their investment.

One Big Reason: A 19% Decline In Bitcoin Being Held On Exchanges...

Investors are taking their Bitcoin off of the exchanges, which means they don't plan on selling anytime soon.

So this really is just the simple law of supply and demand, the supply is getting lower as demand rises, and that always makes prices rise.

This is why he says he's never had bullish sentiment towards bitcoin like today. "It has never been so bullish for 2021. This re-accumulation phase coincides with the decline in BTC's spot inventory, about twice as long and deep as in the last cycle."

The Icing On The Cake:

Woo's BTC price model (if the final numbers and timing are correct) has Bitcoin breaking $80,000 in the next 3 months! 

He also calls the prediction we'll be seeing $200,000 trades for 1 BTC on block explorers soon 'conservative' saying "$300,000 is not out of the question".   

Read Woo's full thread on Twitter here.

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Author: Ross Davis 
E-Mail: Ross@GlobalCryptoPress.com Twitter:@RossFM
San Francisco Newsroom / Breaking Crypto News