Bitcoin price surpassed $40,000 and now is trading at $41,595 on CoinMarketCap. The crypto market’s excitement is largely due to dovish comments from US regulatory agencies on cryptocurrencies and investor confidence that US authorities will soon approve Bitcoin spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
Bitcoin price is more than double that of the beginning of the year and is the highest price since the end of April last year. However, it is still far from its all-time high of $69,000 in November 2021.
Investors also believe that the US Federal Reserve (Fed) will hold its federal funds rate steady through most of the first half of next year. In a report last week, Standard Chartered Bank kept its forecast that Bitcoin price will hit $100,000 in 2024. This bank said the scenario will be driven by the approval of many ETFs.
Crypto financial services platform Matrixport also predicted that Bỉtcoin will reach $63,140 by April next year and $125,000 by the end of 2024.
“Based on our inflation model, the macro environment is expected to remain a robust tailwind for crypto. Another decline in inflation is anticipated, prompting the Federal Reserve to likely initiate interest rate cuts”, Matrixport’s report wrote. “Combined with geopolitical crosscurrents, this healthy dose of monetary support should push Bitcoin to new highs in 2024.”
According to vice president Vijay Ayyar of crypto company CoinDCX, after surpassing the $40,000 mark, Bitcoin could move towards the next important milestones of $45,000 and $48,000. However, he also warned that Bitcoin could decline again if the US Securities and Exchange Commission refuses to open Bitcoin spot ETFs.
From an optimistic perspective, many crypto business leaders believe that the agencies’ strong handling of wrongdoing has helped the crypto industry become healthier. Sharing with CNBC, Marcus, CEO of online payment platform Lightspark, said that after going through the speculative phase, the crypto market can focus on technology and practical applications instead of just a giant digital casino where people can transact.
If the SEC approves a bitcoin spot ETF, large investors will have the opportunity to invest in Bitcoin without having to directly own it or safely store it. Currently, Bitcoin ETFs can only hold Bitcoin futures contracts or stocks of companies and other ETFs with exposure to cryptocurrency.
“It seems that 2023 is the year to prepare for a new bullish period for bitcoin. Investor sentiment looking towards 2024 and 2025 is very optimistic,” said Pascal Gauthier, CEO of Ledger, told CNBC last week in an interview.