Copyright © BusinessAMBE 2023

Bitcoin is still on track to reach a value of $150,000 by the end of this year. That's what Geoff Kendrick, head of digital asset research at banking group Standard Chartered, has said. If that prediction is correct, the digital currency should rise another 127 percent this year.

In February and March 2024, Bitcoin's price climbed to record highs after a period of relative stability. At its highest point, Bitcoin's value even reached $73,000. Since then, the crypto currency has cooled somewhat, though, and its value has fallen about 11 percent again.

Despite that recent drop, Standard Chartered remains optimistic about Bitcoin. That's what analyst Geoff Kendrick said in conversation with BNN Bloomberg. He reiterated there that his firm's price target for the end of this year remains $150,000.

Several reasons

Kendrick sees several reasons to believe Bitcoin will rise again in the coming months.

  • Since its adoption in January, funds traded on the bourses have brought in some $12 billion, Kendrick estimates. Currently, however, crypto traders are rather cautious. Reason for that are tensions in the Middle East. Later this year, that could reverse. Once the crypto-EFT market in the United States matures, the analyst expects inflows of $50 billion to $100 billion over the next two years.
  • In addition, Bitcoin is also bullish again due to its recent halving. The halving reduces the amount rewarded to bitcoin miners, which reduces the amount of new bitcoin coming into circulation. In the past, this always caused a spike in bitcoin's value. Each of the previous three halves provided new record highs over the next 12 months.

Standard Chartered has long been one of the most optimistic forecasters about Bitcoin. Not only does the company predict a rise to $150,000 this year, for 2025 the banking group even expects a value of $250,000.

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