According to reports, the struggles of the stock market may have an impact on the altcoin markets. Crypto strategist Benjamin Cowen believes that the strength of the stock market could determine the short-term future of all crypto assets, except for Bitcoin.

Bitcoin’s future is addressed

Cowen suggests that if the risk-off stance that stocks have adopted persists, it could negatively affect altcoins.

A risk-off stance means that investors are either staying on the sidelines or withdrawing their capital.

Cowen explains that if the S&P 500 index remains risk-off for long enough, it could cause Bitcoin to drop below the 20-week SMA and stay there in August or September of the pre-election year.

This, in turn, could lead to the capitulation of the altcoin market. Cowen also notes that if the altcoin market cannot take out its October 2022 high in a risk-on environment, it could go put in a new low in a risk-off environment.

Cowen believes that altcoin accumulation should not start until the Bitcoin dominance is at 60%. As the Bitcoin dominance is currently above 50%, Cowen does not think it is time for the altcoin market to turn bullish.

The BTC.D chart shows how much of the cryptocurrency market cap belongs to Bitcoin. Cowen predicts a challenging future for Bitcoin leading up to the April 2024 halving.

He believes there’s a high probability that Bitcoin will experience a secondary scare, which has happened before. Historical data shows that Bitcoin has always had a correction of at least 40% to 50% before every pre-halving year high.

Bitcoin in the news

A crypto trader with a large following has issued a warning to Bitcoin (BTC) investors as the flagship crypto asset struggles to break through a significant resistance level.

Bluntz, an analyst who posts under a pseudonym on the social media platform X, had cautioned his 224,000 followers that BTC may experience a substantial correction similar to what occurred in 2017, when the currency experienced a pullback of more than 80% from its high.

Bluntz notes that if BTC continues to struggle without bouncing back, a significant macro pullback similar to what happened in 2019 could be on the horizon.