Bitcoin’s fall from the December 2017 high of $20,000 to the current $6,000 level has been a painful one. Every time it looks like a recovery is on the way, the price falls again and the battle at 6k resumes. Some commentators say that the BTC bear to bull switch is near, predicting a rise to all-time highs, and in some cases, extreme highs, dwarfing 20k. Others say there’s more downside to come and the possibility of a lengthy period at lower prices, with some believing a fall to pre-bull market levels could occur. The truth is, no-one knows for sure. So what do you do? How do you survive the Bitcoin bear market?

​While there are no easy answers, here are four steps that I believe will help to point you in the right direction.

1. Evaluate your personal financial situation.
If you have invested in Bitcoin only what you can afford to lose, then you are in a powerful situation. If so, you can hold your Bitcoin at least until, if history repeats itself, the price rises to a new high. On the other hand, if you cannot afford to lose all or some of what you've put into Bitcoin, then you have some decisions to make. How long you can survive with the price at current levels? What would the consequences be if the price fell further? Once you've carefully considered these things, proceed accordingly to secure your finances. Don't leave it to chance or the whims of the market.

2. Update your knowledge about Bitcoin, its history, use cases and supporting technologies. 
If you're fairly new to Bitcoin and have never endured a bear market before, then it's time to do some research. Take a look back at the price journey of Bitcoin since it was first traded in 2010 (in 2009 it didn't have a price). Watch videos and read articles by those who have endured BTC crashes and bear markets, gleaning knowledge and tactics from their triumphs and tragedies. Learn about the development of hardware wallets, the lightning network, second layer security solutions, exchanges, and companies and counties investing in Bitcoin. All of this will help to build a foundation of confidence in the long term future of BTC that is based on knowledge. This might just be what gives you the courage to hold when you're tempted to sell.

3. Analyze what you believe about the long term future of Bitcoin. 
Once you have increased your knowledge in the areas discussed in Step 2, it's time to have an honest look at what you really think about Bitcoin. Do you believe that BTC is a strong technology that the world desperately needs and that it's here to stay? If not, you'll find it far more difficult not to sell during the bear market. This is because deep down, you may not have the confidence that Bitcoin will survive, let alone return to the previous high and beyond. Alternatively, if you're convinced that Bitcoin is here to stay and that adoption and supporting technologies will continue to grow, you will be able to hold for the future.

4. Devise a plan for your Bitcoin investing going forward.
This final step is vital, as it's easy to make snap decisions during a sudden market move, unless you have thought things through beforehand. Never panic buy, never panic sell and never invest what you can't afford to lose are my rules of thumb. Decide if you're going to continue investing in Bitcoin while the price is down. If you are, then determine how much and what your investment strategy will be. You could put in all of your allocated funds now, at an anticipated price point in the future, or dollar cost average a certain amount at specific intervals over time. Each option comes with its own potential risks and rewards, depending on price movements. The upside is that no matter how you invest, if it's preplanned, you are less likely to make rash decisions or to risk money that will devastate you financially if it's lost. Hold on long enough and you might just join those who held throughout the last bear market. They survived to see an all time high beyond their wildest dreams.

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If you're new to Bitcoin and cryptocurrency, you may have noticed that the learning curve is steep and sometimes confusing. With so many websites, blogs, vlogs and self-proclaimed gurus, not to mention scammers,  out there, it can be hard to know what to spend your time on, or who to listen to. Plus, even when information is reliable, it can often be highly technical or assume much prior knowledge. There is certainly a gap in the market for Bitcoin content, explained in everyday language, for those starting out in the space.

One individual whom I believe is helping to bridge this Bitcoin understanding gap is Brian, the UK Bitcoin Master. I first heard Brian speak during his debut guest appearance on Adam Meister's popular, This Week in Bitcoin show. Immediately, I was impressed with Brian's enthusiasm and the down to earth manner in which he discussed Bitcoin.

As a Baby Boomer and someone who had only been introduced to Bitcoin himself in May 2017, Brian has a passion to teach the basics of Bitcoin to those starting out from scratch. If this is you, then Brian's, Bitcoin for Beginners series on his UK Bitcoin Master YouTube channel is a great place to start building up your knowledge. The videos are short, to the point and delivered in language that is easy to digest.

To kick things off, take a look at the first episode below, and also his appearance on, This Week in Bitcoin​.

The price of Bitcoin fell from $13,000 to $10,064 before bouncing back up to $11,700. While finding support at the 10k mark is a positive sign, the downward move may not be over, as the price has once again dipped below 11k.

It isn't just Bitcoin that has taken a hit. Ninety-eight of the top 100 cryptocurrencies listed on CoinMarketCap.com have fallen in the past 24 hours. The cause of this downtrend is unclear, however, there are suggestions that speculation about possible crypto related government regulations in China and Korea has spooked investors.

Bitcoin's history is filled with significant falls in price, yet every time it has recovered and gone on to reach new highs. Keep this in mind if you're considering selling your Bitcoin. Think long term and never panic sell.

I personally, would not be surprised to see a further fall of 2k to 2.5k, which may be a good buying opportunity. Again, this is a volatile market, so whatever the situation, only invest what you can afford to lose.

My belief in the long term future of Bitcoin has not changed — Bitcoin to the Moon!

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Considering that this time last year Bitcoin was trading at $830, it seems crazy talking about a $1,000 consolidation range for BTC. Well, that is exactly what is happening at the moment, with the price moving in a channel between $13,000 and $14,000.

No matter which time frame you look at, there is currently no clear indication from the charts whether the next big move in price will be up or down. This make it very difficult to trade at the moment, not to mention risky.

For those who buy and hold, which is what I recommend, it's a time to sit back, relax and look forward to an exciting year ahead. Think long term about your investment in Bitcoin. Doing so will help you to resist selling on impulse or in a state of panic when there is a sudden move in the market. Remember that those who sold this time last year are now wishing that they'd thought long term.

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When investing in Bitcoin (BTC) there are various strategies that you can use. Two of the most common are Dollar Cost Averaging (DCA) and going all in. With DCA, you invest a set amount at regular intervals, while going all in sees everything you have to invest put into the market at once. There are advantages and disadvantages to each, so let's take a closer look these.

Going All In
Advantages

• You know the price that your entire investment will be made at

• If the price goes up quickly you get the full benefit of the gains made
• If Bitcoin forks or airdrops occur, you will likely receive a larger cryptocurrency dividend, as these are awarded in proportion to the quantity of BTC that you hold

Disadvantages

• If the price falls you will have missed an opportunity to get some Bitcoin for a cheaper price
• You may have to pass up on other investment opportunities that arise
• If an extended bear market follows, you could be holding a loss position for a considerable period of time

Dollar Cost Averaging
​Advantages

• You get more Bitcoin if the price falls during the period of time that you're putting money into the market
• You have money on hand during the investment period that could go towards other things if your circumstances change or new opportunities arise
• If you don't have a lump sum to invest, you can still grow your Bitcoin holdings using a percentage of your regular income

Disadvantages

• There is uncertainty about what the price of Bitcoin will be at each investment interval
• If the price rises rapidly, you will receive less Bitcoin than if you had invested everything up front
• You may receive lower cryptocurrency dividends from any Bitcoin forks or airdrops that occur prior to all of your investment payments being made

In the current market it is difficult to judge which investment strategy will give you the best result. My personal choice at the moment would be DCA as I think there could be a further downward correction in the not too distant future, however, long term I'm bullish. No matter which strategy you choose, it is important to only invest money that you can afford to lose. This is a volatile market where the price can rise and fall quickly, so you need to be prepared for anything.

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Happy New Year Bitcoiners! Welcome to 2018. This time last year we were completely unaware that the price of Bitcoin was about to go parabolic and thrust the cryptocurrency onto the world stage like never before. Very few people would have believed you if you'd said that Bitcoin would climb from less than $1,000 to nearly $20,000 a coin before the year was out. In fact, most would have laughed or mocked.

So what does Bitcoin have in store for 2018? Could we see a flood of Wall Street money push the price all the way to $100,000 per BTC? Will there be a major exchange hack or government regulations that spook investors, leading to a crash and extended bear market? Personally I'm on the positive side, looking for a significant move upwards, and I certainly wouldn't be surprised by 100k. This website is 'Bitcoin to the Moon' after all.

New Year optimism. There's nothing quite like it. I was reminded of this yesterday when doing my daily exercise. The place where I go for this was packed. Getting a park was almost impossible, as even the illegal parks were taken. People were everywhere. You could feel the 'get fit, lose weight, eat healthy' New Year's resolutions in the air. And that's great. I'm happy to see people wanting to improve their physical well being. After all, if you don't have your health, it doesn't matter how much Bitcoin you have.

The thing is, that at the start of the year, on a beautiful day, and a holiday at that, filled with optimism and surrounded by like minded people, motivation and a positive outlook come easily. This won't be the case as the days, weeks and months pass. Sooner or later the day will come when holidays are long gone, you're tired and stressed, the weather is lousy, the crowds have disappeared and those who shared a smile and an encouraging word have decided to stay at home. This is the true test of whether or not a resolution will become reality.

If you entered the Bitcoin market in 2017, well done. You have seen the price go up and up, while the corrections have rebounded quickly to achieve further all time highs. Not only that, but many others have joined you on the journey. People from all walks of life, some of whom had never even heard of Bitcoin before, have piled in to get themselves some BTC. Exchanges haven't been able to cope with processing the number of requests for new accounts. It's been one big Bitcoin bull run party. Until now.

The recent fall from nearly 20k to under 11k did rebound, but it is still significantly below the all time high. The market is moving sideways, looking for a breakout to the upside or possibly even the downside. Now I think it will move up, however, it may not. Some are selling their Bitcoin and getting out, while others are exchanging their BTC for the latest fad altcoin where the price is pumping. These are the most testing times we have faced since the start of the 2017 bull run. What should you do now? What will you do if the price falls?

What will I do? Learn from the past. In 2011, Bitcoin fell in price by more than 90% from $32 to $2. The amount in dollar terms seems small now, however, those who bought large quantities at $32 faced a tough situation after the crash. It's easy in hindsight, but it wouldn't have been easy at the time. Next, towards the end of 2013, Bitcoin's price spiraled downwards from a high of $1,100 into a long term bear market that went as low as $200. Again, testing times for people who bought in near the peak.

Those who have believed in the technological innovation of Bitcoin and its potential for changing the future of finance, have in most instances, held during the market downturns. This decision has paid off handsomely, as they have eventually seen their Bitcoin rise in value way beyond previous highs and in some cases beyond their wildest dreams. This is the kind of motivation that can help you to stay strong when everyone around you has given up.

Speaking of up, one way or another, I believe that's where Bitcoin is going.

Bitcoin to the moon in 2018!

First came Bitcoin Cash, then Bitcoin Gold, followed by announcements of Bitcoin Diamond, Super Bitcoin, Bitcoin Platinum, Lightning Bitcoin and now a plethora of Bitcoin blockchain hard forks and airdrops are flooding onto the scene​. Some are fake, while others are jokes or even scams, however, many will turn out to be legitimate and this is good news for Bitcoin holders.

If you hold Bitcoin and control your own private key, then you are entitled to free amounts of these fork created cryptocurrencies as they become available. The number of free coins is usually equivalent to the quantity of Bitcoin you own at the time of the fork, although there are some cases where the ratio is as high as ten to one.

Here are some tips for keeping your Bitcoin safe and getting the most out of all of these potential cryptocurrency dividends.
​

1. Use a hardware wallet, such as a Trezor or Ledger Nano S, to store your Bitcoin. This puts you in control of your private key and gives you the greatest potential for receiving free crypto. If instead, you keep your Bitcoin at an exchange, then they decide which fork coins, if any, you will get.
   
   
2. Never reveal your Bitcoin wallet private key or seed phrase to a website that asks for it. There are many scam websites and social media accounts that have been set up to steal your Bitcoin.  Some of these appear almost identical to the legitimate sites and accounts that they mimic. They claim that you need to enter your private key or seed phrase in order to claim a particular dividend. This is not true and if you do, you will never see your Bitcoin again.
   
   
3. When it comes to claiming a specific cryptocurrency divided, check the official website of your hardware wallet for notifications and instructions of how to proceed.
   
   
4. Once you have claimed your free coins, consider selling them and using the proceeds to buy more Bitcoin. This is a way to increase your BTC holdings without having to dip into your household budget. Of course, you could also cash them out, as a way to take some profits without having to sell any of your Bitcoin. The other option is to hold your freely acquired altcoins, or a portion of them, as a means of diversification. All of this needs to be weighed up carefully according to your financial situation at the time.
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5. If you do sell your free crypto and use it to boost your Bitcoin savings, then when the next hard fork coin comes along, you will get more of it. Rinse and repeat.

Just five days after almost reaching $20,000 the price of Bitcoin fell to less than $11,000. This caused panic selling from many investors who are new to Bitcoin. Those who have been in the space for a number of years have seen this all before, although the amounts of money we are dealing with are much higher.

If you are new to this market and have held on to your Bitcoin despite the drop, well done. When all you have experienced so far is a bull market, it can be a scary thing to see the price falling so rapidly, especially if you bought in at the peak. Staying calm, thinking long term and learning from the past can all help you in continuing to resist the temptation to panic sell. 

Percentage wise, Bitcoin has seen far greater falls in the past, yet has always recovered to reach new all time highs. In 2011, the price peaked at $32 before crashing and entering an extended bear market that took it all the way down to $2. That's a correction of more than 90%. Next, in 2013, the Bitcoin price climbed from $13 to $1,100 before crashing and once again entering an extended bear market. This saw the price retrace to a low just above $200 — an 80% drop.

Those who have held their Bitcoin throughout these seemingly catastrophic crashes have been richly rewarded. Panic selling, on the other hand, has led many to regret their decisions.

Stay calm, remember why you invested in Bitcoin, and for further tips on surviving the ups and downs of the market, read How to Handle Bitcoin Price Volatility and Lessons Learned from the Bitcoin Crash of 2013.

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With Bitcoin constantly in the news because of the astronomical increases in price, more and more people are looking to invest in it. Typically, when someone decides to buy Bitcoin, they sign up for an account at a cryptocurrency exchange. Upon doing so, they are confronted with other cryptocurrency options that the particular exchange offers.

The next thing that becomes apparent to the new investor is that all of the other cryptocurrencies are much cheaper than Bitcoin. This can lead to the decision to buy one of the cheaper alternatives (altcoins). The logic being that they can buy more of it and maybe even get in on the ground floor of the 'next Bitcoin'.

In my opinion, this is a mistake. Remember, as I wrote yesterday, You Can Buy Part of a Bitcoin. Owning part of a Bitcoin is preferable to having a whole altcoin, or multiple altcoins for that matter. Altcoins will come and go, rise and fall, however, Bitcoin is here for the long term.

This is not a situation where Bitcoin could be the 'MySpace' waiting for a 'Facebook' to take over as the market leader. Bitcoin is better compared to the internet itself. It is the technology around which the future of cryptocurrency will be built. Bitcoin is a truly decentralized, limited supply, non-freezable, non-confiscatable store of value, that also enables permissionless transfer of value.

Bitcoin or Litecoin?
Bitcoin or Bitcoin Cash?
Bitcoin or Ethereum?
Bitcoin or Monero?
Bitcoin or Dash?
Bitcoin or ...?

For me, the answer is Bitcoin.
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