Bitcoin decline is similar to the start of the 2016 bull run: Peter Brandt

Bitcoin’s decline since the April 2024 halving is starting to look similar to market movements ahead of the 2016 bull run, according to veteran trader Peter Brandt. 

In a post on X on Aug. 5, the analyst said that the “BTC decline since halving is now similar to that of the 2015-2017 halving bull market cycle.”

Brandt compared the depth of the market corrections since the halving dates noting they were very similar.

In 2016, the Bitcoin (BTC) halving was on July 9 and the asset price on that day was $650. The markets retreated during that cycle to a subsequent low of $474 in a 27% post-halving decline within a month before rocketing to a cycle high of $20,000 in December 2017.

Similarly, the recent Bitcoin slump below $50,000 now represents a 26% decline from the post-halving price of $64,962.

However, some analysts warn Bitcoin could drop lower.

On Aug. 5, BTC prices dumped double figures in a fall to $49,221, according to CoinGecko.

It has lost 20% since tapping $70,000 in late July but has already shown signs of recovery reclaiming $56,000 during early trading in Asia on Aug. 6.

On Aug. 5, ITC Crypto founder Benjamin Cowen said in a post on X that the pattern had mirrored that of 2019 when markets surged for the first half of the year, then dumped in a massive correction for the second half.

Tim Kravchunovsky, founder and CEO of the decentralized telecommunications network Chirp, commented in a note to Cointelegraph that we could see crypto assets recover much more quickly than other risk assets as we did in 2020.

The massive selloff was not a crypto-specific issue as “macroeconomic factors are in the driving seat,” he said.

“Over the coming hours and days, we may well see a decoupling of crypto from traditional stocks, similar to what we saw in 2020.”

"Back then, crypto staged a much faster and more pronounced recovery from the pandemic-driven collapse than traditional stock markets, and we may well see something similar this time,” he added.