As a dramatic year begins to wind down to a nervous close, the digital asset bear market continues to dig its claws into the majority of cryptocurrencies.

Bitcoin is now 50% down from its $14,000 high in June, while a number of top altcoins have lost more than 70% of their value.

The entire cryptocurrency market cap is now sitting just below $200 billion, which is a staggering $170 billion less than it was six months ago.

The hype surrounding Facebook’s proposed launch of Libra has now subsided amid mounting regulatory scrutiny, while the launch of physically-settled Bitcoin futures on Bakkt has also failed to impress.

From a technical perspective, Bitcoin has endured consistent lower highs following the $14,000 top in June, with an exponential moving average death cross also coming to fruition on the daily chart.

The chart is eerily reminiscent to that of 2017, when Bitcoin slumped heavily as hype-fuelled retail investors began to exit the market.

The next logical stopping point for Bitcoin is the $5,900 level of support, which would see its market cap drop to around $106 billion from $132 billion.

However, the reality is that a bear market, as seen in 2017, lasts much longer than investors want to believe.

If $5,900 fails to hold, Bitcoin could well fall to where it was in December 2018 at around $3,150.

Much of Bitcoin’s short-term future depends on major news events coming out of China and Facebook over the coming months.

China’s apparent warm approach to blockchain could potentially cause a global impact, while Libra’s launch could drive mainstream adoption of digital assets.

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