Bitcoin crashes to $53K, but analysts warn the worst isn’t over

The price of Bitcoin ( BTC ) crashed as low as $53,600 on Coinbase on July 5, the first time the asset has traded at this price since February this year.

Analysts fear the worst is still yet to come.

Bitcoin has since leveled out to trade at $54,122 at the time of publication, according to TradingView data .

Speaking to Cointelegraph, eToro market analyst Josh Gilbert said much of the sell-off could be traced back to fears stemming from Mt. Gox creditor repayments , which will see around $8 billion worth of BTC hit the market starting this month.

Following the sudden dip to the $53,600 level, Gilbert said he expects to see worsened price action for Bitcoin in the coming days.

“The news flow is far more bearish than bullish right now, and the selling activity we’re seeing is quite clearly unsettling investors, which often drives more selling,” Gilbert said.

“It wouldn’t surprise me to see the asset test $50,000 within the next week, but that will be a key physiological level.”

“There will be weakness in the short term until we receive a catalyst to drive the price higher, and that might come in the form of investors ‘buying the dip’ or an ETH ETF approval to improve sentiment,” he added.

Related: Bitcoin traders express optimism even as BTC price targets shift lower

Analysts from 10x Research also predicted a continued dip that could see the price of Bitcoin brought as low as $50,000 in the coming weeks, warning that selling “could accelerate as support gets broken and sellers scramble to find liquidity.”

Despite the short-term bearish outlook, Gilbert said there are also reasons for investors to remain bullish on a longer-term time horizon.

“We look to catalysts such as the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates in September, with the potential for another cut in December to lift prices.”

“On top of that, the full acceptance of an Ethereum ETF from the SEC, with a July launch date, would be a big boost for the crypto market," he adde

In a July 3 investment note — viewed by Cointelegraph — IG Markets analyst Tony Sycamore said that if Bitcoin had strong support at the $55,000 mark, including its 200-day moving average and trend channel support.

If the price of BTC were to hold above $55,000 in the coming weeks, Sycamore said he expects the uptrend to resume, “leading to a retest and break of the March $73,794 high.”

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