The year 2020 has finally arrived, and it looks like bitcoin is off to a mediocre start.

Are Things Already Going Awry for Bitcoin?

At the time of writing, the world’s number one cryptocurrency is trading for just over $7,200, meaning it has taken a $200 nosedive over the past couple days. What a pleasant (insert sarcastic note here) way to start off the new year.

Many are worried that at the end of the day, 2020 will be just another year in which bitcoin repeats its wild price behavior. The last 12 months have proven to be an up and down roller-coaster ride for the world’s leading cryptocurrency. It started out in the mid-$3,000 range after falling to this position in November of 2018, arguably the worst period for bitcoin since the early 2015 crash that took the coin down to less than $200 per unit.

From there, bitcoin hovered at roughly $3,500 since April of 2019, when it finally rose beyond the $5,000 mark. It continued to spike steadily over the next three months, eventually peaking at $13,600 during mid-July. However, this momentum proved difficult to maintain for the coin, which eventually fell back down to the $10,000 range about two months later.

In September, however, things really took a turn for the worse. Following the dismal performance of Bakkt, the world’s leading cryptocurrency by market cap fell from $9,500 to about $8,100 in just a matter of minutes, setting the crypto world on fire and keeping all enthusiasts on edge.

From there, the highly anticipated Mark Zuckerberg Libra testimony took place, bringing the currency down even further to $7,400. With a drop of more than $2,000 in just a month, many believed that bitcoin’s glory days of the previous months were likely over, and that the cryptocurrency market would be slow to recover.

Fortunately, things picked up after Chinese president Xi Jinping commented that blockchain could potentially revitalize China’s infrastructure and economy, and that he was pushing blockchain innovation within the nation’s borders. In addition, Bakkt garnered heavier interest from crypto traders, and the number of bitcoin futures contracts being traded shot up to new heights.

The Momentum Has Proven Too Hard to Keep Up

Sadly, the currency couldn’t maintain its newfound glory and later fell back down to the $7,000 range again, where it’s remained ever since.

Bitcoin is off to a slow start this year, but there’s enough backing its price to hopefully ensure that 2020 is somehow stronger and “more dignified.” For instance, several industry experts – from Tim Draper to Mike Novogratz to Charles Hoskinson – predict big numbers for BTC’s price in 2020, and while many remain split on the halving set to occur in May, some still believe that the event could stir a mega spike that will take bitcoin to its tallest levels.

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