Bitcoin (BTC) did not "crash" this weekend and is in fact performing exactly as expected, says the creator of the renowned stock-to-menstruation price indicator.

In a tweet on March 8, the analyst PlanB said that even though BTC/USD had dropped below $8,000, the downward pressure was actually a non-event.

PlanB: BTC price "withal spot on"

Sharing the latest version of Bitcoin'due south stock-to-catamenia forecast, he summarized:

"#bitcoin S2F chart adjusted for today's 'crash' ... nada really happened, btc still spot on S2F track."

Stock-to-flow is a measure of where Bitcoin should go based on its existing supply — the stock — versus the "new" Bitcoins that enter circulation, or the catamenia. The resulting ratio determines the expectations, which phone call for BTC/USD to striking $100,000 at some point in 2022.

Prior to May's block reward halving, which should catalyze price growth, PlanB's model calls for substantially lower average readings of beneath $10,000.

At present, the boilerplate of the 10-day and ane-year stock-to-menses values is around $vii,600 — less than $200 below the spot price at press time.

Bitcoin stock-to-flow chart as of March 8

Bitcoin stock-to-flow chart as of March 8. Source: PlanB/ Twitter

As Cointelegraph reported, stock-to-flow has proved extremely accurate at charting Bitcoin'due south journey. In spite of this, PlanB has faced criticism in recent times from those who claim $100,000, in detail, is too optimistic.

Defending his reasoning, he argued that those naysayers had both failed to prove that stock-to-flow is incorrect and to produce a valid alternative.

"Massive" difficulty increase incoming

At the same time, PlanB noted that Bitcoin's difficulty is set to increase on Monday, regardless of toll action.

Difficulty essentially represents the amount of endeavour required to validate the Bitcoin blockchain, with higher levels implying more than miner participation.

"No sign of weakness two months before the halving," he added, describing the roughly seven% hike to new all-time highs equally "massive."

Bitcoin difficulty 1-year chart

Bitcoin difficulty i-year chart. Source: Blockchain

Bitcoin's hash rate — a rough approximate of unsaid computing power that miners dedicate to the network — hit best highs of its ain concluding week.