On Saturday, bitcoin is continuing Friday's decline. Yesterday, the flagship cryptocurrency depreciated by $4,000 and has now fallen below the psychological level of $40,000. Obviously, it's all about geopolitical tensions, as there was nothing else for the market to react to yesterday when new shelling in Donbas and mass evacuations of its residents began. Nevertheless, some cryptocurrency experts believe that bitcoin may still rise in 2022.

For example, there is an opinion that the stock market may suffer the most because of the upcoming rate hike in the US. Some experts believe that stock returns are likely to decline because of the rate hike, but the Fed has no direct influence on the cryptocurrency market. Therefore, the capital may not flow from risky assets to safe-haven ones, but from the stock market to cryptocurrencies and hedging assets. Some believe that geopolitical tensions could play into the hands of cryptocurrencies, which provide high returns. However, they also agree that bulls are not dominant right now, which means bitcoin may fall.

Some experts say bitcoin has been trading sideways within the trading range of $30,000 - $55,000 for the recent months. Frankly, it is hard to imagine what kind of a flat is with a channel width almost equal to the value of the asset itself. We might as well say that the EUR/USD pair has been trading sideways for the last 20 years between the levels of $0.6 and $1.4. These experts believe that institutional investors will save bitcoin and that good news will come to the market that will bring retail investors back to it.

Many call $30,000 a critical level. Bitcoin fell to this level last summer, and presumably, there are pending buy orders around that level that may keep bitcoin from falling lower. At the same time, if you could be 100% sure of anything in any market, trading would be easy and simple. However, the markets remain a place where many traders suffer losses. We think bitcoin could very well reach the $10,000 mark in the next couple of years. This is supported by the fact that the Fed is just about to raise the rate and reduce its balance sheet over the next few years. The fact that every bull trend for bitcoin has ended with an 80-90% collapse in value. Geopolitics may also have a strong impact on its quotes. Currently, Western Europe is on the brink of a military conflict that could engulf the region for years to come. There will be consequences for all countries. Bitcoin remains a risky asset, which is usually dumped first in favor of gold and the US dollar.