Bear Market 'Largely Over,' Crypto Fund Manager Claims

Timothy Enneking, managing director of Crypto Asset Managment, LP, said Monday that the winter in cryptocurrency markets is "largely over."

Crypto Asset Management, which was founded last year and has roughly $20 million in assets under management, saw its CAMCrypto30 cryptocurrency index fall by 69 percent since its high in January. Enneking, writing in a recent investor newsletter, sees four reasons for the collapse.

Asset consolidation, regulatory concerns, massive liquidation by the Mt. Gox trustee and startups' selling crypto assets to pay salaries and expenses are all factors in the market's overall decline, he wrote.

"Consolidation after the amazing 2017 increase" drew back some of the funds invested in cryptocurrencies, he said.

Invsestors are also likely wary due to recent regulatory actions. While he did not cite any specific events, the report comes just weeks after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission subpoenaed startups with initial coin offerings.

It remains unclear what exactly the SEC is looking for, though an official confirmed "dozens" of investigations were underway.

The other two reasons likely had less of an impact, Enneking said.

These factors have mostly been priced into the cryptocurrency market already, which, despite the recent rout, is still up by over 600 percent in the last 15 months, he wrote.

Enneking also noted that bitcoin's share of the overall cryptocurrency market has fallen from 45.7 percent on Dec. 20 to 44.3 percent. This decline in "BTC dominance" has coincided with a decline in correlation between bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, he wrote.

While the note does not comment on what declining correlation means, it could indicate that the quality of individual cryptocurrencies is beginning to have a greater influence on their market prices.

The combination of these factors indicate that the market should begin rebounding soon, he indicated in his report.

Bear image via Shutterstock