Expert Says Crypto Selloffs Will Accelerate if This One Thing Happens

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Tim Alper

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Tim Alper

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Tim Alper is a British journalist and features writer who has worked at Cryptonews.com since 2018. He has written for media outlets such as the BBC, the Guardian, and Chosun Ilbo. He has also worked...

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June 26, 2023

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A top researcher in Japan has predicted that crypto selloffs could gather speed if Bitcoin (BTC) is unable to hold at the $17,000 mark for a significant period of time.

The claim was made by Yuya Hasegawa, a market analyst at the Japanese crypto exchange bitbank, and reported by the Japanese media outlet CoinPost. Hasegawa noted that “fortunately” for crypto holders, the market has not collapsed “significantly” – despite recent pressures.

But, Hasegawa pointed out, if prices “fail to hold at the $17,000 level, selling may accelerate in the short term.”
 

The analyst pointed out that monetary policy-related moves in Europe and particularly the United States have had a direct effect on crypto prices. Hasegawa added that BTC markets have shifted downward as an apparent direct response to rising interest rates in the USA.

Some, however, have claimed that interest rate policies are set for a change early next year. If that were to occur, “stabilizing” inflation figures “during the first half of next year” could drive up demand for BTC and other tokens, South Korean analysts claimed.

Could Good News in Japan Halt Crypto Selloff?

In Japan, prices have been buoyed in the past few days by a bullish move from the nation’s biggest energy provider, the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO).

Last week, media outlets reported that TEPCO was planning to enter the bitcoin mining sphere – and that it wants to make use of surplus electricity to power rigs.

A number of Japanese mining firms are still looking for solutions to a slowdown in their operations – after they were ordered to cease mining operations in Russia earlier this year.

Electricity prices are relatively high in Japan, a fact that has restricted the growth of the domestic BTC mining sector.

But the new TEPCO development could well change this picture. Media outlets added that TEPCO has sealed a deal with the semiconductor firm Triple-1. A firm named Agile X is also reportedly taking part in the project, which will being with a pilot in TEPCO’s Tokyo premises.

The operators have spoken about a plan to create mining centers “across the country.”

Positive news like this is likely to boost the price of BTC in Japan. But Hasegawa warned that pressures from overseas would likely continue to pull in the opposite direction.

The analyst predicted that “in the medium term,” bitbank’s researchers “anticipate a tug-of-war between expectations of a slowdown in the pace of Federal Reserve rate hikes and concerns about the economy.”