Bitcoin prices remained upbeat in the first three months of 2023. It witnessed YTD gains of over 67 percent, highlighting a recovery after a dismal 2022. However, April is proving to be a different story so far as the price of Bitcoin has fallen by two percent during the month.Currently, most of the bullish sentiment that emerged after Bitcoin crossed $30,000 earlier this month seems to have dissipated, and bearish speculation is back on the table. However, whether or not one should be worried about further crashes depends on certain signals.Bitcoin predictions are mixedThe declining prices of Bitcoin and Ethereum have caused most major tokens to trade in the red of late. The largest cryptocurrency by market capitalisation has plunged 10 percent from its recent high of nearly $31,000, wiping out billions from the total market cap.According to Edward Moya, a senior market analyst at Oanda, the crypto market may have been affected due to Coinbase’s plans to leave the US if the crypto rules remain unclear. If Coinbase exits the US market, US traders may not feel confident trading on decentralized exchanges, leading to a shrinking crypto market.He made these comments via an email to CoinDesk. Moya also predicts that Bitcoin will struggle to increase in value amid regulatory tension in the US, which could further drive prices down. Also Read: Why you may want to avoid investing in crypto in these four countriesNevertheless, expert opinions tend to vary when the future of crypto is involved. Despite the ongoing headwinds, analyst Mike McGlone remains very bullish on Bitcoin’s long-term prospects. Fadi Aboualfa, head of research at digital-asset custodian Copper, pointed out to Bitcoin’s positive funding rate — where long investors pay a small fee to short traders, indicating overall bullish sentiment. He also said that he did not see much shift in Bitcoin’s landscape from a fundamental perspective.What does fundamental data say?One way to get more clarity on the debate is by analyzing Bitcoin’s whale activity, which is one of the many ways to predict market direction. According to Santiment, addresses holding 10 to 10,000 BTC, which account for two-thirds of Bitcoin’s supply, have not changed their trend too drastically since the second half of last year. Although these addresses have been declining since October 2022 and no signals of a rally have emerged, no signs of a further price drop have emerged either.However, social dominance tells another story. The statistics show the share of the discussions in crypto media regarding a particular coin. A higher social dominance count is healthy for price progression. As per Santiment, Bitcoin’s social dominance was around 20,000 during the collapse of major crypto-friendly banks on March 11. Since then, the figure has since risen to 30,000. In other words, discussions regarding Bitcoin have increased since last month and a long-term bullish signal may emerge if social dominance continues to rise in the coming weeks.Furthermore, the number of daily active addresses is around 869,000 in April, which is 100,000 higher than that in January. Usually, cryptocurrency prices remain clear of sharp price drops as long as their network activity is ticking upwards.On the other hand, Santiment revealed that Bitcoin’s recent ascent to $30,000 was backed by poor trading volumes, which is not a good sign. Although trading volume spiked in March, it has dropped off over the last month and now flashes a bearish divergence with respect to Bitcoin’s price.Conclusion Although the abovementioned mixed signals are not ideal for a Bitcoin rally, they do not necessarily point to additional losses either. However, it should be noted that Bitcoin’s price is affected by a number of external and internal factors. If some market abnormalities are to occur, we may just see Bitcoin shift lower to $26,000, which is the next area of support.Also Read: Surprising things you can purchase with Bitcoins
