Bitcoin might be experiencing tumultuous price action, but its fundamentals remain strong. Despite the risk of price falling in the short term, Standard Chartered, the global banking giant, has some bullish predictions for BTC. According to the bank’s emailed investment note, the world’s leading cryptocurrency could skyrocket to an eye-watering $150,000 by the end of 2024. Furthermore, their long-term forecast is that Bitcoin could peak at $250,000 in 2025.
Standard Chartered Predicts Massive Bitcoin Price Surge
The first half of 2024 is almost over and Bitcoin’s current price action has derailed more than many expected. However, analysts at Standard Chartered remain bullish and have revised their price target of $100,000 by the end of 2024. Now, the bank believes the price of Bitcoin can still increase by over 130% in the second half of 2024 and reach a peak of $150,000 by the end of the year.
Standard Chartered’s analysis is based on the success of gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the US and the surge in the price of gold in the months after their introduction.
“We think the gold analogy—in terms of both ETF impact and the optimal portfolio mix—remains a good starting point for estimating the ‘correct’ BTC price level medium-term,” the bank noted.
Many analysts and industry players have always compared BTC to gold. Thanks to its provable scarcity, limited supply of 21 million BTC, and status as a non-sovereign store of value, Bitcoin is increasingly viewed as “digital gold” by investors. Just like physical gold has been a hedge against inflation and economic turmoil for centuries, Bitcoin is credited with playing a similar role in the digital age.
Furthermore, Standard Chartered believes that the price of BTC will continue to increase and reach a high of $250,000 in 2025 before settling around $200,000. This will only become a reality based on the success of Spot Bitcoin ETFs.
“If ETF inflows reach our mid-point estimate of $75 billion and/or if reserve managers buy BTC, we see a good chance of an overshoot to the $250,000 level at some stage in 2025,” the note said.
There’s no denying that Spot Bitcoin ETFs have done wonders for the price of BTC since their launch in January. Their long-awaited launch saw them break various ETF records as institutions and traditional investors rushed to get in on the action. This led to a corresponding increase in the price of BTC, which led to the creation of a new all-time high.
However, interest in Spot Bitcoin ETFs has dropped steadily, and they registered six consecutive days of outflows last week. Some would argue that the price of BTC has become too dependent on the activity of the Spot Bitcoin ETFs. At the time of writing, the 11 ETFs collectively own $55.55 billion worth of Bitcoin, representing 4.39% of the total market cap.
Featured image created with Dall.E, chart from Tradingview.com
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