The US central bank is close to bringing its aggressive rate-hiking cycle to an end, a move that could propel Bitcoin to $100,000 by the end of this year, analysts at Standard Chartered wrote in a note on Monday. But such bold predictions should be taken with a grain of salt, given that many weren’t even close to materializing in the past.
The End of Interest Rate Hiking Could Drive Crypto Prices, Standard Chartered Says
Analysts at Standard Chartered said in a note on Monday that Bitcoin could exceed $100,000 by 2024 as the crypto winter is now over. The analysts wrote that the world’s biggest cryptocurrency could capitalize on several factors, including risks in the banking sector highlighted by the recent turmoil, the end of the Federal Reserve’s tightening cycle, and improved profitability of crypto mining operations.
“While sources of uncertainty remain, we think the pathway to the USD 100,000 level is becoming clearer.”
– said Geoff Kendrick, head of digital assets research at Standard Chartered.
The bank’s predictions come just a few weeks after Bitcoin breached the $30,000 threshold for the first time in June 2022, marking a sharp rebound for the cryptocurrency this year following a catastrophic 2022 that obliterated prices of risk assets. The so-called crypto winter was triggered by several factors, including a series of interest rate hikes by global central banks to rein in 41-year high inflation, numerous collapses in the industry, and geopolitical tensions.
But now, the Federal Reserve and other central banks are nearing their peak or already done with their rate-hiking cycle, resulting in a much more optimistic outlook for risk assets such as stocks and cryptocurrencies. US central bank officials expect rates to reach 5.1% this year, implying just one more 25 basis-point (bps) hike from the current benchmark target range of 4.75% to 5%.
Another Bold Crypto Price Prediction
However, this is not the first time analysts have made a bold prediction on crypto prices during a rally, and most did not live up to expectations. In 2017, the antivirus software pioneer John McAfee predicted that Bitcoin would reach $1 million by the end of 2020. The actual price of Bitcoin at the end of 2020 was below $30,000.
Similarly, analysts at Citi said in November 2020 that Bitcoin could skyrocket to $318,000 by the end of 2022. The cryptocurrency ended the year around the $16,500 mark.
Earlier this month, crypto research firm K33 Research said Bitcoin could hit $45,000 by May, implying that the crypto token will see its price surge more than 65% in the coming days.
This article originally appeared on The Tokenist
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