Bitcoin trader with $12K BTC price target warns ‘weeks’ to crypto comedown

Bitcoin, Ether and other crypto tokens are still in line for “new lows,” says the trader who has held a $12,000 BTC price target throughout the year. In his latest post on X (formerly Twitter) on Dec. 22, the pseudonymous account Il Capo of Crypto called the end of the current bull market.

Crypt bull market: “The beginning of the end?”

Bitcoin and Ether may be up 163% and 92% year-to-date, respectively, per data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView, but for the ever-controversial Il Capo of Crypto, a collapse is just a matter of time. Stubbornly refusing to believe the enthusiasm around crypto’s 2023 renaissance, they now believe that a doomsday scenario lies around the corner. BTC/USD, they said, is “probably forming a local top here at 40k–45k,” echoing previous analysis sent to Telegram channel subscribers. “ETH could reach 2500s, and some alts could have the last pumps,” part of the post stated.

“After this, a full reversal to new lows is likely over the next few weeks.”

While nothing unusual, Il Capo of Crypto’s bearish stance comes at a conspicuous time in Bitcoin’s history. As Cointelegraph continues to report, the United States is thought to be on the cusp of approving its first Bitcoin spot price exchange-traded fund (ETF), an event many see as opening up BTC to institutional capital en masse for the first time. $48,000 is in fact a popular BTC price target for around the decision, this due by Jan. 10 at the latest. In November, meanwhile, Il Capo of Crypto announced “the beginning of the end.” “Summary: prices going even higher than expected but everything is very overextended and the sentiment is extremely bullish,” they wrote in a Telegram update on Dec. 9.

“A big correction is due, maybe a blow off top.”

Analysis: Bitcoin ETF demand will likely “fall short”

Others also acknowledge that a more significant correction than those seen thus far would be a healthy bull market catalyst. In its final market update of 2023, trading firm QCP Capital concluded that such a scenario could follow the ETF confirmation — even if positive. “As we finally approach the launch, we need to point out that it is likely that the actual demand for the BTC Spot ETF at the start will fall short of market expectations. This sets up a classic ‘sell the news’ scenario in the 2nd week of Jan,” it predicted.

“For this reason, we expect topside resistance for BTC in the 45-48.5k region and a possible retracement to 36k levels before the uptrend resumes. We are confident that the trend higher will eventually continue (perhaps after a few weeks) as the market positions for a strong rally into the BTC halving.”