Market strategist says crypto has ‘no upside catalysts’

Bitcoin continues to hover just above the $20,000 price level, where bulls have been battling fresh downside pressure following the bounce from bear market lows of $17,600.

The crypto market is also in a similar sentiment zone, and what investors might be looking out for is whether the bottom is in. Of course, several market commentators and analysts warn of one possibility: the crypto winter could still have further downside legs.

Bitcoin is yet to see a recession

CoinShares, a leading digital assets management firm, believes the market may struggle to establish an upside movement. 

This view was shared by the company’s chief strategist officer Meltem Demirors, who told CNBC’s Squawk Box’ that the current crypto market will likely persist for a while. 

“For us at CoinShares the view is [that] we are going to stay where we are for a while. There are no near term upside catalysts. We have yet to see Bitcoin in a recession,” Demirors told CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin on Monday.

What’s going suggests more pain

The strategist indeed expects the global macro environment to dictate fresh downturns across stocks and crypto.

“For us at @CoinSharesCo the view is we are going to stay where we are for a while. There are no near term upside catalysts. We have yet to see #bitcoin in a #recession,” says @Melt_Dem. “Certainly expect more pain ahead for tech stocks, growth and also #crypto.” pic.twitter.com/3dQ7ke9tA5

— Squawk Box (@SquawkCNBC) July 11, 2022

“Arguably, are we in a recession? We don’t know,” she added, “but with what’s going on in the Eurozone, around the world and in the United States – the Fed hiking rates and cutting back on their open-market activities – certainly expect more pain ahead for tech stocks, growth, and also crypto.”

The CoinShares executive also noted that with a lot of liquidity squeezed out of the market following the crypto price crash, traders might yet be apprehensive of what’s coming next. 

According to the expert, the uncertainty is a strong indicator of near-term price movement possibilities, with more companies likely to hit turbulence before the market calms down.