Civic CEO: Bitcoin to Trade Range-Bound for ‘Three to Six Months’

Vinny Lingham, the CEO of identity management startup Civic, said in an interview with CNBC Nov. 26 that the Bitcoin (BTC) price will remain range-bound for several months, while it could break down of the $3,000 mark.

Speaking on CNBC’s “Fast Money,” Lingham suggested that Bitcoin trading will be range-bound between $3,000 and $5,000 for at least three to six months. Lingham expressed doubts about whether the BTC price will break down of the support level at $3,000 since there is “a lot of buying in the short term around that mark.”

However, Lingham stressed that “if we do not get out of the crypto sort of bear market cycle in the next three to six months, that $3,000 level could go.”

Lingham also said that it is “a bit too risky” to buy BTC at its current point, also adding that with high risk comes high reward if the market does turn. Lingham further stated:

“I think, the risks right now outweighs the upside in the short term anyway. There will be better opportunities later on. You may have to pay a bit more, but […] buying in at that level [$5,700] or $6,000 in the future would be obviously higher price, but you will be more de-risked if Bitcoin can get back to that level and make a run back to its previous highs.”

When asked whether the BTC price slump affected the development of Bitcoin-based platforms, Lingham argued that it slows it down, but the “real issue is the narrative” of Bitcoin.

Vingham notes that some people bought into Bitcoin as a store of value, which he claims is “proven not to be true.” Others, he stated, bought into the idea of Bitcoin a payment network that would compete with such payment processors as MasterCard or Visa.

Lingham, who was previously bullish on crypto — he entered the cryptocurrency market and Bitcoin in particular in 2013 — claims to have a “checkered past” in the crypto community for his skeptical attitude. In February 2017 he wrote a blog post warning about the risks of “another bubble” in cryptocurrencies. Commenting on this issue, Lingham said that fundamentals need to lead the market, not speculation, but the community disagrees.

Earlier this week, Galaxy Digital founder Mike Novogratz said that he expects cryptocurrency to “flip next year” since “that’s when prices start moving again.” Novogratz also predicted that financial institutions will transition from “investing in cryptocurrency funds to investing in cryptocurrencies proper in the first quarter of next year.”