10X Research predicted in a report Tuesday that Bitcoin will fall further to $73,000, underscoring its recent bearishness and wider crypto markets pessimism.
The crypto markets research group noted “striking parallels between the end of the last crypto bull market and the current one,” including U.S. central bank hawkishness and other macroeconomic uncertainties, and the “fade” of key crypto narratives.
“Today, we’re seeing similar macro headwinds, microstructural inefficiences, and price action patterns pointing toward a familiar cycle playing out once again as retail is losing,” 10X said, highlighting the collapse of the meme coin frenzy that helped life crypto markets and fuel Bitcoin’s spike above $108,000 in January.
10X’s report comes as investors veer away from cryptocurrencies and other risk-on assets, amid rising concerns about a trade war stemming from the Trump Administration’s tariffs on leading partners, recession, and global conflicts in Eastern Europe and the Middle East.
A swoon in the once-torrid meme coin market has further undermined confidence in digital assets. Other market observers, including Arthur Hayes, co-founder of the BitMEX exchange, have also forecast that BTC could drop toward $70,000.
Bitcoin rebounded above $83,000 on Tuesday, but is still down nearly 14% over the past month, and well off its record high of nearly $109,000 set in early January when optimism about the likely crypto-friendly policies of the incoming Trump administration abounded.
Dogecoin, the largest meme coin with a $24 billion market value, is has plummeted more than 33% over the past month, and other tokens in the category have lost even more ground.
“Speculative hype can temporarily defy broader market trends before succumbing to reality,” 10X wrote. “While this cycle may have peaked when the Fed [U.S. central bank] turned hawkish in mid-December, the meme coin frenzy continued—driven by retail speculation. However, as retail traders were used as exit liquidity and realized they were playing a rigged game, the market’s topping formation likely transitioned into a crumbling structure.”
In a December report when Bitcoin fell briefly to the $95,000 level, 10X had warned of the Federal Reserve’s more restrictive monetary shift and “other market factors” that were “also becoming less supportive.”
10X wrote in this most recent note that “if history is any guide, the next major (up) move will require a new narrative.”
“Many retail investors are now holding portfolios packed with meme coins, most of which are on a slow march to zero with TRUMP leading the way collapsing under the weight of speculation, much like the broader market under the so-called crypto president.”
Edited by Andrew Hayward
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