There are a ton of investors waiting on the sidelines and all they want is some closure to this ongoing drama and for the bottom to be found and the worst priced in before they buy. So any end to the mtgox ordeal is bullish. There may be a short term downwards movement due to panic but ultimately upwards.
Who are these 'ton of investors'? Joe Sixpack turned on the news and thinks Bitcoin is dead. Any financial institution worth a damn won't touch Bitcoin with a 10 foot pole long after the dust has settled. Any present or future business that accepts Bitcoin is a net seller of Bitcoins, so count those out. Emerging markets are already painting it as an elaborate ponzi and in some cases banning it. There is still a ton of stolen coins waiting to be dumped.
The taint of this news will not be washed by some Reddit headline of a donut shop down the street accepting BTC. As far as the mainstream perception goes, Bitcoin has a crapton of PR to do until it can shakeoff this colossal fuckup - the fact that some stupid CEO is actually responsible for it has little meaning outside of the in-the-know folks who are already a part of the Bitcoin community.
I ask you again, who are these 'ton of investors' you speak of?
I never thought about exactly how the long-term bear market predicted by a few could happen - I just thought "rubbish!" - but what has just happened could well mark the unwinding of a whole lot of stuff going back several years.
Right or wrong "malleability", "laundering", "hacking", "Silk Road", etc. are going to be on many political agendas when it comes to digital currencies in 2014: a new kind of choo choo about to leave the station - massive negative propaganda. But I can see this also possibly being countered by major efforts at positive news by businesses and investors. Also battles behind the scenes that we only become half aware of.
One thing that would help a little: the Bitcoin richlist should immediately stop putting the mix of positive spin and anti-regulation banter at the end of each and every Gox article they write these days. Just commiserate with the people for a week or two - it looks better and has a more human touch than the libertarian "it was your choice so let's move on" cold shoulder I'm amazed to see coming from many of the bigwigs.
For what it's worth I for one will not be blaming Bitcoin for my own stupid loss at Gox.