Bitcoin could soar after Blockchain Week New York: crypto analyst

Blockchain Week New York is about to hit Manhattan and bitcoin may have its biggest breakout yet, according to a leading analyst.

“The regulatory risk, the fundamental risk around what’s happening with cryptos has hit a bottom and now we’re in a state of general recovery,” Robert Sluymer, managing director and technical strategist at Fundstrat Global Advisors, said on CNBC’s “Fast Money” Thursday.

He said bitcoin, which was trading just above $9,000 Thursday evening, “continues higher from here.”

Blockchain Week’s annual event kicks-off May 11 in New York City, another sign that bitcoin is on the rise, Sluymer said.

The week-long event includes some of the biggest movers and shakers in the cryptocurrency world, such as St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President James Bullard, European Parliament member Eva Kaili and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, among others.

In 2015, the first Blockchain Week saw 1,500 people in attendance. The turnout the following year nearly doubled to 2,700 attendees. This year, the event is expected to attract about 8,000 people, half of whom are coming from outside of the United States.

Sluymer said, historically, bitcoin has increased each year after Consensus, one of Blockchain Week’s largest events, which includes a hackathon and blockchain job fair, had taken place.

In fact, in 2015, the digital currency increased 23 percent after Consensus.

“Not a huge amount considering how volatile cryptos are,” the technician said. “But then it moved up around year-end for about another 100 percent move.”

Bitcoin continued to edge upwards in 2016, about 10 percent after the Consensus event, and then an additional 80 percent by year’s end, Sluymer said. The large-cap digital coin soared even more — 69 percent — around 2017’s Blockchain Week.

This year’s Consensus takes place on Monday, May 14.

Bitcoin peaked at approximately $19,500 last December, before falling to lows of around $6,000 earlier this year.

Sluymer said the coin’s bottom may be behind us.

“There’s really a bull-bear scenario, where folks are arguing where it’s going,” he said, but pointed out the strong economy and current bull market will only help the coin continue to trade higher.

Bitcoin’s 200-moving average, from November 2017 to May 2018, he said, is “relatively shallow.”

“We’re already moving back from the 200-day average,” Sluymer said.

On Thursday, Fundstrat, founded by frequent CNBC guest Tom Lee, released a note saying that with bitcoin “mining,” the coin could be worth as much as $64,000 by 2019.