Standard Chartered Predicts Bitcoin Could Reach $200,000 Following ETF Approval

Should spot ETFs based on the leading cryptocurrency be approved, the asset’s price could soar to $200,000 by the end of 2025, analysts at Standard Chartered stated in a recent report. 

Standard Chartered posting some moon math! $200,000 coming pic.twitter.com/IQueMhjgiP

— Lark Davis (@TheCryptoLark) January 9, 2024

“Approval is Inevitable”

The bank estimates that by the end of 2024, exchange-traded funds will hold between 437,000 BTC and 1.32 million BTC, equivalent to a market inflow of $50-100 billion. 

The company’s forecast suggests Bitcoin could increase approximately 4.3 times from its current level of $47,000. Analysts noted that exchange-traded products related to gold showed similar dynamics, but only seven to eight years after the launch of the respective ETPs.

“Bitcoin will experience similar growth following the approval of a spot ETF in the US, but we will see it materialize over a shorter period (one to two years), given the rapid development of the BTC-ETF market,” explained Standard Chartered.

The approval of spot exchange-traded funds based on the leading cryptocurrency represents a “turning point” for the asset’s adoption, experts added. 

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will consider Ethereum-ETH applications similarly to Bitcoin. The bank believes that “ultimately, the creation of spot ETH funds is likely to be permitted.” 

Drawing an analogy with silver, analysts highlighted its “loss of efficiency” following the launch of ETPs.

In a conversation with CNBC, former SEC Chairman Jay Clayton stated that the approval of a spot ETF based on the leading cryptocurrency is “inevitable.” 

“There is nothing more to decide. This is a big step not only for Bitcoin but for the financial market as a whole,” he added. 

According to Jim Angel, an associate professor at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business, a “price war” will occur after the product’s launch, as many issuers enter with nearly identical products. 

A Bitter Pill

Despite all the positive signals, Fox Business journalist Eleanor Terrett suggested another delay in the decision on applications. 

An interesting caveat here on how the 5-member SEC Commission could potentially delay a $BTC Spot ETF approval.

While there’s no scheduled commission vote on the ETF, each commissioner apparently has the right to request a review and full commission vote (under the clause cited… https://t.co/W3pnOPXe2b

— Eleanor Terrett (@EleanorTerrett) January 8, 2024

“The SEC, consisting of five members, could potentially delay the approval of a spot ETF. Although there is no scheduled Commission vote on the fund, each member apparently has the right to request a review and full vote,” she noted. 

In response to Terrett’s post, Bloomberg exchange analyst Eric Balchunas stated that he is not concerned about such a development. According to him, the regulator is led by Gary Gensler, and the agency’s staff are working with issuers. 

“Approval is the plan. There is no reason to complicate things,” the expert added. 

Earlier, Gensler warned on social media X about the volatile nature of crypto assets. The community saw this as a sign of imminent approval of the applications. 

Amid expectations of exchange-traded products, the price of digital gold tested the $47,000 mark for the first time since April 2022. At the time of writing, the asset is trading at $46,858. 

Analysts at CryptoQuant suggested that Bitcoin ETF approval could raise the asset’s price to $54,000. Morgan Creek Digital co-founder Anthony Pompliano warned that the launch of the instrument would not double the price of the leading cryptocurrency overnight.

Conversely, JAN3 CEO Samson Mow predicted that digital gold could rise to $1 million within a few “days or weeks” following ETF approval.