2018 was a rough year for the cryptocurrency space as bitcoin and other altcoins lost some 80 percent in value over the last 12 months. As 2019 kicks off, crypto investors are eager to know whether this year will be better year for the market than 2018.

As of today, the the 2018 price rout of cryptos shows no sign of turning around, while pessimism and fear are still dominating the market. China’s crypto analysts remain cautious toward short-term future of cryptocurrency and argue that the market is unlikely to see a big comeback this year, according to the Beijing News.

Sun Hang, a senior analyst at Token Club, said there is a slight possibility of seeing a crypto comeback in the short run due to an imbalance between digital currency supply and demand. “ Even if there is a turnaround, it is expected to arrive in the second half of 2019,” Sun said.

When asked about whether it is wise to invest in bitcoin in 2019, Sun indicated it depends on the investor’s investment cycle. “If you plan to hold bitcoin for 3 to 5 years, it makes sense to buy dip  in 2019. But if you have a short investment cycle , like one year, then you should be careful because bitcoin is unlikely to outperform other investment targets due to the limitations of blockchain technology over the next 12 months,” Sun said.

He was not sure when bitcoin could find its bottom, but he believed more and more supporters of decentralized currency will invest in the world’s largest cryptocurrency.

Another cryptocurrency analyst Huang Liang took a more cautious stance towards the future of the market. “At both macroeconomic (tight liquidity within the crypto market) and microeconomic level (slower-than-anticipated blockchain adoption), 2019 will not be a year for bitcoin’s strong corrective rally,” Huang said, adding that the price of bitcoin will possibly drop further.

The Beijing-based bitcoin analyst Xiao Lei shared the same thoughts on crypto’s journey through 2019. He told the Beijing News that 2019 will prove to be a year for cryptos to look for ‘survival value’, and this year might not enable bitcoin to live up to the hype of 2017’s manic rally, but will be better than 2018 for the market. He predicted that crypto prices in 2019 will be more volatile than most traditional financial assets like stocks, and corrections are expected in the more than 200 percentage range in terms of loss from an all-time high.

“ The best investment strategy is to keep calm, pour a relatively small amount of money into the market and accept the volatility, ” Xiao said.