For the first time ever, bitcoin has fallen for eight straight weeks.  In that time, bitcoin has lost nearly a third of its value.  Bitcoin was down 3.30 percent at $29,364 as of press time, having dipped below $29,000 for the day.  

Bitcoin has been hovering around the $30,000 mark for nearly two weeks.  Bitcoin prices have fallen more than 50% since peaking at $69,000 on Nov. 10 and hit a 17-month low of $25,401 on May 12.  Bitcoin remains the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalisation, but the combined market capitalisation of all cryptocurrencies is now $1.3tn, less than half its peak of $3tn last November.  

Market indicators, from technicals to trading volumes, are "flashing red" for bitcoin.  Data platform Coinglass's Bitcoin market Sentiment Fear and Greed Index (0 indicates extreme fear and 100 indicates extreme greed) hovers around 13.  On The broader cryptocurrency front, total spot market volume for all cryptocurrencies on major exchanges fell to $18.4 billion as of Monday, according to news and research site The Block, less than half The $48.2 billion total traded on May 14 (The highest volume of 2022).  

Investors are asking whether bitcoin has broken out of its winter after eight straight weeks of losses.  

However, given current global market sentiment and recent price action, it seems premature to call a bottom for bitcoin.  

The two crashes in 2021 lasted 14 and 10 weeks, respectively, and caused bitcoin to fall by about 46%.  If anything, after a 36 per cent drop in the past eight weeks, bitcoin may have a long way to go.  

Joseph Edwards, head of financial strategy at fund manager Solrise Finance, puts it bluntly: "Bitcoin is not appealing to retail investors at the moment.  No one really thinks bitcoin has 10x potential."  

According to Kavita Gupta, founder of Delta Blockchain Fund, the current crypto market adjustment is already in the "cold winter" and could last for a year and a half.  Kavita Gupta believes the price of bitcoin could fall to around $14,000 as a result of the cryptocurrency winter.  

Scott Minerd, chief investment officer of GUggenheim, said on Monday that he expects bitcoin could fall further from current levels, eventually hitting $8,000 a coin.  That means bitcoin could fall another 70%.  "When bitcoin consistently falls below $30,000, $8,000 is the ultimate floor for bitcoin.  "I think bitcoin has more downside, especially with the Fed's aggressive rate hikes and quantitative tightening."  

In fact, the current macro backdrop is far from supportive of cryptocurrencies as an asset class.  Investors firmly believe the asset class is volatile and risky, making it vulnerable to inflation.  At a time when rising global interest rates and geopolitical tensions are raising fears that U.S. stocks are headed for a bear market, bitcoin is clearly not on anyone's "buy list."  

But in the midst of this winter, there are signs that bitcoin may be poised for a revival.  While bitcoin's price has fallen, its market dominance -- its market capitalization relative to other cryptocurrency markets -- has jumped to a seven-month high of more than 44 per cent.  

After the collapse of the Terra USD(UST), the world's third-largest stable currency, earlier in May, investors fled.  Marcus Sotiriou, analyst at GlobalBlock, a uk-based asset broker, said: "institutional investors are partly fleeing to safety, to the most institutionalized bitcoin."  

In addition, last week saw the largest net long position in bitcoin futures since the contract was launched in 2018, according to data from the COMMODITY Futures Trading Commission, a sign that traders are increasing bets on a rise in the cryptocurrency's price.