Bitcoin could rise 270% to $100,000, says Standard Chartered
Standard Chartered said in a paper released on Monday that the price of Bitcoin could rise to as much as $100,000 by the end of 2024, signaling the end of the “crypto winter.”
According to Geoff Kendrick, head of digital asset research at Standard Chartered, Bitcoin could benefit from recent turmoil in the banking sector, a stabilization of risk assets as the US Federal Reserve ends its rate hike cycle, and improved profitability of crypto mining.
While the cryptocurrency’s original goal of serving as a hedge against skyrocketing inflation last year failed, it recently achieved success by serving as a bet against the traditional banking system.
The robust and strong value of Bitcoin
Crypto’s decentralized features have made it a resilient asset in the face of widespread banking failures. In fact, the alpha coin was the best performing asset in the first quarter, gaining 70% during the period.
“We see the potential for Bitcoin to reach the $100,000 level by the end of 2024,” Kendrick said in the report, titled “Bitcoin – Pathway to the $100,000 Level.”
Standard Chartered’s head of digital asset research also said it believes “the much talked about ‘crypto winter’ is finally over” and that the path to $100,000 territory is becoming “clearer.”
In April, Bitcoin passed $30,000 for the first time in 10 months, continuing its upward trend this year. After trillions of dollars were drained from the crypto sector in 2022 due to interest rate hikes by central banks and a wave of crypto companies collapsing, the advance of the largest crypto represents a partial decline.
The important role of Crypto Miners
The increased profitability of crypto miners may be among the factors supporting BTC’s price, as miners are more likely to hang on to their coins rather than sell them if their values continue to significantly exceed mining costs.
The most sought-after digital currency has now fallen below $30,000, but Kendrick predicted that miners would hoard their coins if prices stayed above $15,000.
The halving in 2024, which will halve the number of new coins, was also identified as a bullish driver by Standard Chartered.
In light of this, Kendrick said Bitcoin has earned its reputation as a branded safe haven, a perceived relative store of value and a viable method of transfer.
BTC total market cap at $560 billion on the daily chart at TradingView.com
No other place but up
Bitcoin optimists argue that the cryptocurrency represents a sound diversification strategy during economic downturns. Since there will never be more than 21 million Bitcoins in circulation, the value will rise in line with the demand for inflation hedges.
During previous Bitcoin rallies, predictions of absurdly high prices were widespread. In November 2020, a Citi analyst predicted that Bitcoin’s value could reach $318,000 by the end of 2022. Last year, it fell by about 65%, ending at around $16,500.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin was trading at $28,865, up 2% in the past 24 hours, data from crypto market tracker Coingecko shows.
– Featured image from Zeply
