Analysts at Standard Chartered Bank said the crypto market was on the right track and reaffirmed their forecast that Bitcoin would reach $100,000 by the end of 2024. CoinDesk reports this.
According to Jeff Kendrick, head of the bank’s Foreign Exchange Research Department, the main catalyst for price growth will be the approval of several bitcoin-ETF in the United States.
‘We think a number of spot exchange-traded funds will be approved in the first quarter 2024 for both Bitcoin and ETH. This will pave the way for institutional investments,’ he said.
Experts also noted that the upcoming halving in the Bitcoin network would be another growth catalyst.
Standard Chartered initially gave a forecast that Bitcoin would reach $100,000 in April, noting the end of the crypto winter.
‘Put simply, everything is working as expected. Bitcoin dominance remains undisturbed — its share of the total market capitalization of digital assets has risen to 50% from 45% in April,’ they concluded.
Meanwhile, Bitfinex analysts noted a historical low in Bitcoin velocity at 15.78. This points to a significant shift in sentiment compared with the last bear market cycle, when the metric peaked around 80.
Bitcoin velocity reflects how often the asset is traded or used for transactions. Researchers say a low level suggests market participants are reluctant to sell the asset.
At the time of writing, digital gold is trading at $38,183, up 1% on the day.
In November, Matrixport named the ‘inevitable’ break above $40,000 after the US authorities’ settlement of claims against Binance and its former CEO Changpeng Zhao.