Bitcoin (BTC<\/a>) bears lost out at the last minute as 2021 came to an end \u2014 and consensus is building around China again being the reason for weakness.<\/p>\n Hours before the yearly close, BTC\/USD dived $2,000 to lows of $45,630 on Bitstamp before a modest recovery drew a line under 2021 at $47,200, data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro<\/a> and TradingView<\/a>\u00a0shows.<\/p>\n While something of an anticlimax and far below many popular projections, the lack of parabolic upside for Bitcoin has recently seen explanations shift to exchanges.<\/p>\n Chinese users, following years of the government tightening the screws around crypto trading, had until Dec. 31 to leave the major Chinese exchanges, which were obliged to deregister them.<\/p>\n For Bobby Lee, former CEO of exchange BTCC, this constitutes the “last hammer” in Beijing’s arsenal and one which could have been having a considerable impact on selling behavior.<\/p>\n “Maybe that\u2019s why the hotly anticipated year end bull market hasn\u2019t taken off yet,” he argued in a series of tweets<\/a> on the matter in early December. <\/p>\n “Waiting for the last hammer to drop in China! Expect a mini-correction when the enforcement news gets out, and then a relief rally that could bring us back on track for a real Bitcoin bull market.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Other voices supported the theory<\/a>, while this week, Blockstream also acknowledged the possible pressure from offloading Chinese users, who could be selling their BTC in order to withdraw capital \u2014 leading to rising balances<\/a>.<\/p>\n It\u2019s also a potential reason for optimism going forward as the Chinese exchange overhang will be cleared from the end of this month.<\/p>\n “I think this probably explains why we\u2019ve seen Bitcoin typically trade weaker over Asia hours vs US and European hours,” Blockstream analyst Jesse Knutson wrote in the firm’s latest weekly newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n “It\u2019s also a potential reason for optimism going forward as the Chinese exchange overhang will be cleared from the end of this month.”\u00a0<\/p><\/blockquote>\n On shorter timeframes, thin holiday liquidity could provide another reason to discard price dips like the one seen Friday.<\/p>\n Related:\u00a0First US Bitcoin ETF a \u2018dud\u2019 in 2021 as GBTC discount stays near record lows<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Prior to the return of Wall Street and institutional traders, BTC price action overall may provide an unreliable impression of how the market will perform subsequently.<\/p>\n I’m not very confident in the direction of this flush. Don’t think it’s (currently) as clear as late July (short squeeze setup) for ex. Just know it will come.<\/p>\n This is why I’ve been advocating to have clear invalidation points. $53K served well in not buying the top on Monday.<\/p>\n \u2014 Will Clemente (@WClementeIII) December 31, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n 2022, one forecast this week said<\/a>, should see a major “flippening” of Bitcoin ownership in favor of large-volume institutional traders and away from retail.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n![](\"https:\/\/s3.cointelegraph.com\/uploads\/2022-01\/9db07e50-07d4-492a-8047-56de567800e7.png\")
China “last hammer” could now provide optimism on BTC<\/h2>\n
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Staying cool on holiday volatility<\/h2>\n
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