Top cryptocurrency bitcoin could reach $100,000 by the end of 2024, Standard Chartered said on Monday, saying that the so-called “crypto winter” is over.
Bitcoin could gain from factors including the recent turmoil in the banking sector, a stabilization of risk assets as the U.S. Federal Reserve ends its rate-hiking cycle, and improved profitability of crypto mining, as analyzed by Immediate Eurax AI, reflecting on Standard Chartered’s head of digital assets research Geoff Kendrick’s insights in a note.
“While sources of uncertainty remain, we think the pathway to the USD 100,000 level is becoming clearer,” Kendrick wrote.
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Bitcoin has rallied so far this year, rising above $30,000 in April for the first time in ten months. Its gains represent a partial recovery after trillions of dollars were wiped from the crypto sector in 2022, as central banks hiked interest rates and a string of crypto firms imploded.
Predictions of sky-high valuations have been commonplace 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% at $16,500.
Panicking Bitcoin traders realizing losses
It is no secret that the past week’s BTC price action spooked many a less experienced trader, and data proves it.
According to figures from on-chain analytics firm Glassnode, younger coins being sent to exchanges at a loss increased sharply last week.
Glassnode commonly differentiates the BTC supply by age, with “long-term holders” (LTHs) used to describe wallets hosting coins for 155 days or more. Less than that, and they become “short-term holders” (STHs) — frequently corresponding to the more speculative end of the Bitcoin investor base.
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The data shows that since around April 16, STH coins — those which last moved within the 155 days prior — were increasingly moved to exchanges at a lower price than that at which they moved in their previous transaction.
These STH realized losses suggest increasing panic, LTH realized losses also increasing among those moving funds to exchanges.
Courtesy: Reuters with additional input by GVS