Bitcoin is predicted to reach $100,000 by 2024

After increasing by 1.5 times last year, Bitcoin could benefit from the "halving" event and ETF approval, helping the price rise to $100,000 this year, according to experts.

Bitcoin had a huge rally in 2023, with the digital currency rising about 152% for the year, surpassing $40,000. This recovery was seen as positive after a difficult 2022 with a series of crashes of famous coins and projects, liquidity problems and bankruptcies of many businesses.

FTX, once one of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchanges, filed for bankruptcy in 2022, costing users billions of dollars. In 2023, founder Sam Bankman-Fried was convicted of seven counts of fraud, which could see him imprisoned for up to 115 years. Also last year, Binance's Changpeng Zhao (CZ) pleaded guilty to criminal charges of violating anti-money laundering regulations and resigned as CEO. The exchange faces a $4.3 billion fine.

While 2023 has seen two high-profile incidents, observers see it as an opportunity to move forward and draw a line under bad behavior and bring transparency to the market. They are looking to two factors that will make waves this year: the Bitcoin halving and the possibility of a Bitcoin ETF being approved in the US.

Bitcoin “halving” is an event that occurs every four years, cutting the rewards miners receive in half. This helps maintain the 21 million unit supply limit. In previous cycles, “halving” has been accompanied by a surge in Bitcoin price.

Meanwhile, there is growing excitement about the possibility that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will approve the first Bitcoin ETF after years of resistance. This allows investors to put money into the market without having to directly hold or trade it. The market is hoping this will attract more investors, especially large institutional investors.

Symbol of Bitcoin - the world's largest cryptocurrency in terms of capitalization with about 830 billion USD by the end of 2023. Photo: CNBC — Symbol of Bitcoin - the world's largest cryptocurrency in terms of capitalization with about 830 billion USD by the end of 2023. Photo: *CNBC*

Based on these two factors, fund manager Mark Mobius predicts that Bitcoin could reach $60,000 per unit this year. In 2022, he correctly predicted that the cryptocurrency would fall to $20,000 when it was still trading above $28,000. In 2023, he predicted a price of $10,000, but that did not come true.

Mobius said the world's largest cryptocurrency could hit $60,000 by the end of the year. "Having a Bitcoin ETF would increase market interest in cryptocurrencies," he said.

Giving a more optimistic forecast of $75,000 , Youwei Yang - chief economist of cryptocurrency mining company Bit Mining, said that Bitcoin will trade in the range of $25,000-$75,000 in 2024. In 2025, the fluctuation will be $45,000-$130,000.

“While high prices may occur, not all investors will profit due to the huge market volatility and FOMO mentality of many,” he warned.

Meanwhile, Europe's leading digital asset manager CoinShares predicts a price of $80,000 . Head of research James Butterfill said the digital asset landscape will "change dramatically" by 2024, due to the possibility of approving US Bitcoin ETFs. This, he said, is a step towards more closely integrating cryptocurrencies with traditional financial markets.

This unit estimates that if about $3 billion is poured in, the price of this currency will soon reach $80,000. In addition, the scenario of central banks cutting interest rates can also "play a decisive role" in pushing the market price up.

$100,000 is the prediction of investment bank Standard Chartered. The prediction was made in November last year, doubling the forecast from six months earlier. The bank also believes that the approval of many ETFs and the "halving" event will stimulate the market.

Similarly, Carol Alexander, a finance professor at the University of Sussex (UK), also predicted a price range of $100,000. In 2022, she was quite successful in suggesting a scenario where Bitcoin would fall to $10,000. That year, the digital currency dropped to its lowest level of around $15,480. In 2023, Alexander said Bitcoin would rise to $50,000 and in fact, the currency reached its highest level of the year at around $44,700 in early December.

The professor predicts that Bitcoin will trade around $40,000-$55,000 in the first quarter of the year as “professional traders (whales) create volatility.” The next phase will depend on when the SEC resolves lawsuits with Coinbase and Binance, which could come before approving a Bitcoin ETF. After that, the price of the digital currency will rise to $70,000, a new all-time high.

The eventual price will depend on the ability of ETF providers like Blackrock and Fidelity to prevent price manipulation. According to Ms. Alexander, Bitcoin could surpass $100,000 before the end of 2024, but only if Blackrock and Fidelity are able to protect investors in their ETFs.

Xiao Gu (according to CNBC )

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