(12 December 2017) The incredible story of Bitcoin began a new chapter on Sunday as futures of the cryptocurrency began trading on the Chicago Board Options Exchange at 6.00 pm EST.   Suddenly, the hitherto cultish Bitcoin has burst onto the mainstream as a testament to its relevance in our wired world.  2017 may well be remembered, among other things, as the year of Bitcoin as the computer-based open source currency has risen from $1000 in January to over $18,000.  Bitcoin has attracted huge interest from both novice and institutional investors alike as a possible alternative to government-based fiat currencies. 

While many analysts think it is in a bubble, no one is quite sure when that bubble may burst.  And even if it is a bubble, there is a growing consensus that Bitcoin and its blockchain technology is here to stay.   With the start of futures trading, it seems there are two schools of thought about the future direction of Bitcoin’s price.  The optimistic bulls see this mainstreaming of the cyptocurrency as an opportunity for demand to rise as a wider range of people and institutions try to get a piece of the action.  A more cautious, bearish view is that the introduction of futures trading will give larger investors the means to short, or bet against, Bitcoin and this could tank the price in the coming weeks and months.

In my post from September, I thought that the parabolic rally in Bitcoin would likely continue but only after a pullback in October.  Using the first trade horoscope from January 12, 2009, I had expected the Saturn-Lunar Node aspect in early October to correspond with some declines in the price but this did not materialize.   This missed prediction was perhaps due to a miscalculation on my part, and also may have reflected a data error in the horoscope itself.  As I noted, it is unclear which date, time and place we should use as the "birth" of Bitcoin.  For this reason, I was fairly guarded in my prediction as it depended on some speculative assumptions such as the location of Temple City, California where Bitcoin co-founder Hal Finney lived.

Given this missed prediction, I have some doubts about this January 12th chart and yet the timing of Sunday’s first futures trade would seem to offer some additional evidence for it.  The first Bitcoin futures traded just as Mercury was in a near-exact trine/120 degree aspect with Uranus, the planet of technology.  And these two planets were in turn, in a near-exact 120/240 degree alignment with the Ascendant at 29 Cancer.  The Asc-Mercury-Uranus alignment speaks to important communications and innovations pertaining to Bitcoin.  It is also part of the reason why the Futures rose by 20% in the first trading session.

The approaching Uranus direct station at 0 Aries is one reason for the current rally.  Uranus will station direct at 0 Aries on January 2nd and thus form a very powerful alignment with the Ascendant in this proposed Bitcoin chart.  I suspect the frenzied rally in recent weeks is partially due to the approach of this very close 120 degree alignment with the Ascendant.   But then the question is: what happens after the station when Uranus begins to separate from its alignment with Ascendant.  Conventional astrological thinking would suggest that euphoria and price would tend to diminish after this date, albeit only gradually. 

Bitcoin Outlook

I am still generally bullish for Bitcoin for the next few months.  Some downside looks more likely during the approach of Christmas as transiting Mars aligns with the Moon, Mercury and and the Lunar Nodes in the Bitcoin first trade chart.  Let’s see if this Mars transit after Dec 19th has more effect than the Saturn aspect in October did. 

Another possible shift in sentiment may occur after Uranus turns direct on Jan 2nd.  Since Uranus may have been a bullish influence recently, it’s separation from its aspect with Ascendant could see less euphoria in the Bitcoin market. 

I can see that the Saturn retrograde station in April could bring about some significant declines.  Whether Bitcoin is still in a parabolic rally at that time is harder to say.  But it does seem more probable that it will undergo some correction at that time. 

Weekly Market Forecast

Stock remain fairly buoyant over the past week as last week’s US jobs report was strong although wage growth was quite modest.  As per last week’s market forecast, we did see some downside last week on the Mercury-Saturn conjunction but stocks bounced later in the week as Venus aligned with Neptune.

This week again could bring some downside, probably as a result of tomorrow’s Fed meeting.  The Sun conjoins Mercury retrograde and that is often a problematic influence.  Mars conjoins the Moon on Wednesday also so that would hint that the bears may have the advantage in the short run.  While the markets may cheer the very likely Moore win in Alabama because it will protect the working GOP majority in the Senate, I wonder if Janet Yellen may say something that upsets the prevailing optimism.  It’s something to watch out for.

Even if we get a down week next week, the approaching alignment of Jupiter with Pluto and the Lunar Nodes over the second half of December would suggest that declines may not last and that further rises are very possible.

For more details and analysis on market trends for this week, this month and this year, please check out my weekly MVA Investor Newsletter.  The newsletter is published every Saturday and includes extended discussion of US and Indian stock markets, as well as gold, oil and major currencies.