I don't think you statement needs contradiction, not at least from my end. I too believe that huge demand lead to the ATH during later 2017. The market was absolutely over hyped and a lot of people with zero knowledge about blockchain, started investing in it!
I know few people from my office, who had invested in bitcoin by using their credit card. Those who came out quickly, was saved. But majority of them are still paying the bills with huge interest amount.
But I don't think market will be able to beat the ATH this year. The market is consolidating and being stabilized. Personally I would be more happy to see a stable price instead of seeing a hyper-inflated price of bitcoin!