Elizabeth Howcroft
Thomson Reuters
Reports on the intersection of finance and technology, including cryptocurrencies, NFTs, virtual worlds and the money that powers ‘Web3’.
Bitcoin could reach $100,000 by the end of 2024, says Standard Chartered
LONDON, April 24 (Reuters) – Top cryptocurrency bitcoin could hit $100,000 by the end of 2024, Standard Chartered ( STAN.L ) said on Monday, saying the so-called “crypto winter” is over.
Bitcoin could benefit from factors including 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, Standard Chartered’s head of digital asset research Geoff Kendrick said in a note. .
“While there are still sources of uncertainty, we believe the path to the $100,000 level is becoming clearer,” Kendrick wrote.
Bitcoin has rallied so far this year, rising above $30,000 in April for the first time in ten months. The gains represent a partial recovery after trillions of dollars were wiped from the crypto sector in 2022, when central banks raised interest rates and a number of crypto firms imploded.
Predictions of skyrocketing valuations have been common during bitcoin’s past rallies. A Citi analyst said in November 2020 that bitcoin could climb as high as $318,000 by the end of 2022. It closed last year down about 65% to $16,500.
In Monday’s note, Standard Chartered said bitcoin has benefited from its status as a “branded safe haven, a perceived relative store of value and a means of money transfer.”
Kendrick said the European Parliament’s support for the EU’s first set of rules to regulate crypto-asset markets “should provide a tailwind” for bitcoin.
JPMorgan said in a note on April 5 that a technical change to the bitcoin blockchain in April 2024, known as its “halving,” could increase its price by making it more expensive to produce, causing a “positive psychological effect.”
JPMorgan said cryptocurrency prices have already benefited from crypto enthusiasts interpreting the recent US banking crisis as a “validation of the crypto ecosystem”. Crypto supporters say stablecoins are “less prone to runs”, JPMorgan said.
US regulators have previously told banks to be alert to liquidity risks arising from crypto-related deposits, such as stablecoin reserves, which can be subject to rapid outflows.
Reporting by Elizabeth Howcroft; editing by Tom Wilson, Louise Heavens and Jonathan Oatis
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