Subsequent to a major correction that occurred on December 17, the bitcoin price has struggled to recover to $15,000, remaining stable in the $13,000 region. Analysts OptimisticFrom December 22 to January 2, with the exception of December 27, the price of bitcoin has remained below $14,000 for nearly two weeks, sparking concerns from long-time investors and analysts. Some cryptocurrency researchers and investors have predicted the price of bitcoin to fall below $10,000, prior to regaining momentum and surging towards $20,000 and establishing a new all-time high. While many investors have predicted the price of bitcoin to surpass $40,000 in 2018 by achieving a trillion dollar market valuation, analysts have claimed that the price of bitcoin would likely suffer a big correction before initiating a rally.”Bitcoin could be at $40,000 at the end of 2018. It easily could. There’s a big wave of money coming, not just here but all around the world. What’s different about these coins than other commodities … there is no supply response here. So it’s a speculator’s dream in that as buying happens there’s no new supply response that comes up,” said Novogratz. In late December however, Novogratz stated that he has halted his cryptocurrency hedge fund because of the market conditions. He stated that the price of bitcoin could drop to $8,000 in the short-term as a result of a major correction.”We didn’t like market conditions and we wanted to re-evaluate what we’re doing. I look pretty smart pressing the pause button right now,” Novogratz added. Fast forward two weeks, a major correction has not occurred and the momentum of bitcoin has started to build up with a staggering 15 percent increase in value within the past 24 hours. Given the recent rally of bitcoin, analysts have started to express optimism towards the mid to long-term price trend of bitcoin throughout 2018. The integration of bitcoin by some of the largest financial institutions in the global market including the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and Chicago Board Options Exchange (Cboe) have also triggered the demand for bitcoin from investors in the traditional market. Most recently, billionaire entrepreneur and investor Peter Thiel invested a massive amount of money in bitcoin, demonstrating his confidence over the entire market entering 2018. Potential Factors For SurgeAnalysts are particularly optimistic in regard to the filing for six bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) by NYSE and Cboe, as the introduction of ETFs will further increase the liquidity of Bitcoin especially for accredited investors in the traditional finance sector. Things to look out for in 2018 in #Bitcoin:1. Nasdaq Bitcoin Futures 2. NYSE Bitcoin ETFs 3. Cboe Bitcoin ETFs 4. Scaling / Lower Fees 5. More Adoption Due to ↑ 6. Many Billion of Institutional Money Coming to Bitcoin / CryptoNo wonder analysts are so optimistic!— Joseph Young (@iamjosephyoung) December 26, 2017Despite its recent price slump, investment in bitcoin by key players within the finance sector such as Peter Thiel demonstrate that the cryptocurrency has the potential to increase by large margins throughout 2018, especially if it can improve in terms of scalability and market infrastructure. BTC Price Finally Recovers to $15K, Factors For Another Surge in 2018 was last modified: March 26th, 2018 by Joseph Young