This Metric Suggests Bitcoin Has Bottomed Out

Bitcoin likely carved out a major price bottom in December, according to a non-price metric, which has proved to be a reliable price indicator in the past. 

The leading cryptocurrency is currently trading above $7,700, having hit eight-month lows below $6,500 in mid-December. While the bounce is encouraging, the cryptocurrency remains trapped in a six-month-long bearish channel. Thus, the technical bias is still bearish. 

However, bitcoin’s difficulty adjustment – a measure of how difficult it is to find blocks on the blockchain – indicates the bear market, which began at highs above $13,800 in June 2019, may have bottomed out near $6,500 in December. 

The mining difficulty fell from 13.7 trillion in November to 13 trillion in December – the first downward adjustment in 12 months – according to data source data.bitcoinity.org. 

Historically, negative monthly difficulty adjustments have marked major price bottoms, according to…