Bitcoin Price Watch: Currency Falls to $8,200

At press time, bitcoin is trading for roughly $8,220 – about $130 less than where it stood yesterday.

One source places current resistance levels at $8,600, which bitcoin was previously unable to break. The currency rose to the $8,500 mark 48 hours ago, but has incurred subsequent drops ever since. In addition, bitcoin has also failed to sustain previous support levels at $8,300, thus leading to the most recent drop.

Tom Lee of Fundstrat (whom we’ve discussed in our last two price articles) is again in the news. He’s sticking to his guns and insists bitcoin will reach $25,000 by the end of 2018. However, he is clarifying his words by saying that bitcoin does not need to experience price hikes “every day” to reach this goal.

In an interview with CNBC, Lee explained:

“We have to keep in mind that Bitcoin at $8,000 and Bitcoin, let’s say we think it can reach $25,000. It does not require Bitcoin to go up every day until the end of the year. Remember – the ten best days account for all the return of Bitcoin. If you didn’t own Bitcoin for ten days each year, you lost 25 percent a year since 2010.”

At press time, support levels for the currency have fallen to roughly $8,150, and more bear trends are expected in the coming days. Should things move further in this direction, bitcoin could fall to $8,000 even, though a reversal might see it swinging towards $9,300. However, worst case scenario would see bitcoin dropping to as low as $7,969, with a mid-point average of $8,300. In other words, the currency could wind up staying as it is for some time.

Today is Bitcoin Pizza Day, and this could potentially push the currency’s publicity a little further. Approximately eight years ago, a computer programmer allegedly paid around 10,000 BTC for two Papa John’s pizzas. Today, those coins would be worth more than $80 million. Hence, May 22 has since become a “national holiday” for bitcoin and pizza enthusiasts alike.

In an interview with The New York Times, Laszlo Hanyecz – the programmer who purchased the pies with crypto – says he has no regrets about the situation.

“It wasn’t like bitcoins had any value back then, so the idea of trading them for a pizza was incredibly cool,” he stated.

A Twitter account is providing 24-hour updates regarding how much the pizzas would have cost today based on the latest bitcoin prices. Cryptocurrency news platform Coindesk has also released its own Bitcoin Pizza Day price tracker.

The event is likely to give bitcoin a few pushes along the way, though the big move enthusiasts need to witness is further acceptance amongst retail clients, which has been relatively slow. Many merchants refuse to accept bitcoin due its ongoing volatility. According to one Morgan Stanley analyst:

“The disparity between virtually no merchant acceptance and bitcoin’s rapid appreciation is striking.”

The good news, however, is that we are continuing to witness stronger institutional capital entering the crypto-space via Wall Street and major brokers. Perhaps this is the doorway bitcoin needs to solidify its presence in the retail world.