Looking further ahead, Thielen forecasted further upside for bitcoin based on Elliott Wave theory, a technical analysis that assumes that prices move in repetitive wave patterns. Price trends develop in five stages, according to the theory, of which waves 1, 3, and 5 are “impulse waves” representing the main trend. Waves 2 and 4 are retracements between the impulsive price action. BTC completed its wave 4 retracement by correcting to $38,500, according to Thielen, and has now entered its last, fifth impulsive stage of this uptrend targeting $52,000 by mid-March.