Bradley Duke, Founder and Chief Strategy Officer at the crypto ETP provider ETC Group has shared key insights on the Standard Chartered (LON: STAN) Bitcoin (BTC) price predictions report.
It was mentioned in Reuters this week that Standard Chartered announced in a research report that Bitcoin could “rise to $50,000 by the end of this year and $120,000 next year.”
While these are indeed optimistic predictions, Bradley would like to share ETC Group’s opinion.
Bradley Duke, Founder and Chief Strategy Officer at ETC Group, commented,
“While predicting the timing of market moves is always tricky, the case for a significant increase in the price of Bitcoin in the foreseeable future is clear. The supply-side of the equation remains famously fixed: the total amount of bitcoin is hard-capped at 21 million bitcoin, but the current news flow suggests that the demand-side is set to increase significantly. With Blackrock filing for a spot Bitcoin ETF in the US, given their past success rate, the belief is that this application is likely to be approved. This will enable massive pent-up demand for Bitcoin in the US and elsewhere to finally be able to flow into the market, and it’s logical that the price of Bitcoin respond in a proportionate manner.”
Tim Frost, CEO of digital wealth platform Yield App, has also shared key insights with Crowdfund Insider.
Frost says that while tomorrow’s US inflation figures will likely be good news for the global economy, the Fed won’t allow markets to celebrate yet.
As such, he predicts Bitcoin and the wider crypto market will remain in a holding pattern until December.
Tim Frost, CEO of digital wealth platform Yield App, says:
“This week marks the release of the latest US inflation figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), with most expecting a significant fall from the current level of 4% to perhaps even below 3%. This is great news for the US and the world, as America tends to set the global trend. However, an astounding 94% of market participants surveyed believe the Federal Reserve will still hike interest rates by another 25 basis points at the end of the month. This is an incredible and somewhat inexplicable assessment. If inflation is indeed reported at these low levels on Wednesday, there seems little to no justification for the US to hike interest rates other than simply to keep markets under control.”
He added:
“It could be that the Central Bank does not want to give cause for celebration that would encourage further spending in the US, where the average consumer is getting into eye-watering levels of debt, while spending has not really slowed down. For crypto assets, this all likely means continued range trading around current levels. Bitcoin seems to be holding fairly close to $30,000 at the moment which is a near 100% increase from January when it started the year at $16,540. There are few assets that perform this well in a “bear” market, and canny seasoned traders will likely have done well on BTC this year.”
Frost continued:
“We are seeing predictions for further significant price rises over the next six months, with Standard Chartered today releasing its prediction for bitcoin at $50,000 by the end of the year, and $120,000 by the end of next year. This is thanks to supply dynamics linked to BTC’s upcoming “halvening”, coming in 2024, when bitcoin will become harder to mine. As miners dedicate more resources to mining, Standard Chartered argues they will sell less, which will be supportive of prices. However, this is not the first time, and nor will it be the last that the US bank predicts huge pumps for bitcoin – that may not materialize.”
Frost concluded:
“Nonetheless, the long-range consensus remains that crypto will enter its next bull market in 2024 following a period of continued consolidation this year and, behind closed doors, huge innovation is paving the way for the next wave of crypto adoption.”