Bitcoin could still reach $50,000 USD in 2019 but it has to clear a few important resistance levels. And very soon. We still maintain our (very) long term Bitcoin price forecast of $160,000 and believe that in 2019, we might see Bitcoin Price reach $50,000 or cross above. Our article today will cover the three factors that could send Bitcoin price to $50,000  in 2019.

Factor # 1 Bitcoin ETF Approval and Institutional buyers

Right now, most Bitcoin buying is not easily accessible for many retail investors and speculators. Once institutional buyers really step in, that’s when the real spike in the Cryptocurrency market will really happen.

An interesting observation our team noticed is how right before the launch of Bitcoin futures, we saw a similar cryptocurrency market crash in 2017. Following the crash, the market not only recovered and Bitcoin broke above the 10,000 resistance, it actually crossed above $20,000. Recently CBOE Global markets relaunched the request for approving a bitcoin exchange-traded product (ETP), citing the same arguments as for the launch of the approved market futures.

Could the same happen again? It might be just a question of time and if that happens, it could trigger the next run in Bitcoin price with a $50,000 target for 2019.

Factor # 2 Better understanding of Bitcoin’s limited Supply

Key factor #2 is how limited Bitcoin’s supply really is. When the market realizes that Bitcoin’s available supply is even less than the mined coins in circulation and that it will never get to the total supply that can be mined, scarcity will drive the price much higher.

As of early 2018, this infographic by Nicholas Rapp of Fortune illustrates the breakdown of the current Bitcoin supply and the article is a good read featuring a new study of lost Bitcoin’s :

According to new research from Chainalysis, a digital forensics firm that studies the bitcoin blockchain, 3.79 million bitcoins are already gone for good based on a high estimate—and 2.78 million based on a low one. Those numbers imply 17% to 23% of existing bitcoins, which are today worth around $8,500 each, are lost.

While we believe this study sheds the light on how scarce Bitcoin’s supply could become, there is no way to confirm that some of these coins are lost forever and will never be back into circulation. Therefore, this factor will play a positive role for the longer term.

Factor # 3 Lightening Network

Bitcoin’s lightening network, although advancing, is still in Beta. More and more nodes are running Bitcoin’s lightening network to make Bitcoin transactions faster and the fees significantly lower. Once all the technical challenges settled and the network fully functional, Bitcoin price will significantly benefit as Bitcoin’s intrinsic value will increase.

Bitcoin Price Could Reach $50,000 in 2019 Based on the Price Chart

Bitcoin price has the potential to reach $50,000 in 2019 But for that to happen from a price perspective, we need to see the following:

• Bitcoin price has to Cross Above $8500 and quickly
• Bitcoin should remain above the $5000 to $5500 support. If that support fails, it might cause a significant damage to Bitcoin’s price performance and the sector in general.

As shown by the chart below, it is not uncommon for BTCUSD to cross below the accelerated trend line and make a sideways movement before returning in the ascending channel. Note that the chart below is a log chart, these charts are great for cryptocurrencies in general because their moves are fast and the prices are volatile so a log chart is the best to appreciate the movement and tune off volatility and noise.