Share this article
Bitcoin Could Peak at $45K in May, Analyst Says
The cryptocurrency seems to be mirroring its performance in first-half 2019, when it more than tripled in valuation after a yearlong bear market.
Updated Apr 17, 2023, 5:07 p.m. Published Apr 17, 2023, 9:16 a.m.
Bitcoin (BTC) is closely following its early 2019 surge, and prices could peak at around $45,000 next month, according to Vetle Lunde, a senior analyst at K33 Research.
The largest cryptocurrency by market value has soared 80% this year, beating traditional risky assets, including the tech-heavy Nasdaq index, by a wide margin. The rally comes after a 12-month decline, when prices fell 76% and bottomed out last November.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
The drop and subsequent recovery are analogous to the pattern seen in the 2018-19 bear market in terms of length and trajectory, according to Lunde.
"Bottoms in both cycles lasted for approximately 370 days. And the peak-to-trough return after 510 days of both cycles reached 60%," Lunde said in a note sent to clients last week. "In 2018, the bear market rally topped 556 days after the 2017 peak, on June 29, 2019, with a 34% drawdown from the peak.
"While history is far from likely to repeat in a similar fashion if the fractal were to continue – BTC would peak around May 20 at $45,000," Lunde said.
Bitcoin fell 84% in 2018, with prices bottoming near $3,100 in December. The trend changed in the following months, with prices climbing to $3,700 by the start of 2019 and rising as high as $13,800 by the end of June.
Bitcoin's year-to-date rise has been widely referred to as a "hated bullish move" among crypto observers on Twitter, considering several prominent traders were positioned for a continued sell-off in the first quarter.
A "hated" bull market typically begins during peak pessimism. It reaches a fever pitch once investors who reduced risk in anticipation of an extended slide, begin to feel underexposed and join the bullish bandwagon.
"The hated rally of 2019 ended with a significant blow-off top before BTC resumed trading at a 40-60% drawdown from its 2017 ATH," Lunde noted, using the acronym for all-time high. "The early 2023 rally has all the hallmarks of a hated rally."
Bitcoin changed hands at $29,850 at press time, a 1.5% decline in the past 24 hours, according to CoinDesk data.
More For You
What to know:
- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
More For You
Bitcoin Treads Water Near $90K as Bitfinex Warns of 'Fragile Setup' to Shocks
BTC's relative weakness compared to stocks points to tepid spot demand, making the largest crypto vulnerable to macro volatility, Bitfinex analysts said.
What to know:
- Bitcoin erased very modest overnight gains early Monday and spent the rest of the U.S. session in a tight range around the $90,000 level.
- Rising long bond yields and a small U.S. equities pulling back weighed on risk appetite as traders eye this week's Federal Reserve meeting.
- Bitfinex analysts pointed out bitcoin's relative weakness against U.S. stocks amid modest spot demand and structural softness.
Top Stories
