Investment research firm Bernstein has weighed in on the Bitcoin price, predicting it could surge to $150,000 within the next two years.
The investment research company has said it expects a spot Bitcoin ETF approval to lead to around 10% of the BTC in circulation going towards the product.
Bitcoin Price Action
Bitcoin (BTC) is currently trading around the $35,350 mark, gaining around $3.12% over the past 24 hours. BTC also outperformed the cryptocurrency market, as the total market cap for crypto saw an increase of nearly 3% in the same period. The cryptocurrency has seen a positive trend recently, with data indicating an increase of 28% over the past month.
The long-term picture for BTC has also been a positive one, with the cryptocurrency registering an increase of 73% in the past year. Around this time last year, BTC was priced at around the $20,500 mark. The current sentiment around Bitcoin is quite bullish, with important support levels at $ 34,574, $ 33,720, and $ 33,248. Meanwhile, the key resistance levels are at 35,900, $ 36,372, and $ 37,226.
Bitcoin Price To Surge
According to Gautam Chhugani, an analyst at Bernstein, the predicted surge to $150,000 could be due to current optimism surrounding the potential approval of the spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund. Chhugani also stated that he expected the United States Securities and Exchange Commission to approve at least one or two proposals for a spot Bitcoin ETF in the first quarter of 2024.
At present, there are eight to ten traditional finance giants that have ETF applications pending with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These include the world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock. Others in the fray are VanEck, Cathie Wood’s Ark Invest, Galaxy Digital, Wisdom Tree, and Fidelity Investments. Bernstein expects that an ETF approval would see around 10% of Bitcoin’s circulating supply go toward exchange-traded products. It further added that Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust already holds around 3% of the cryptocurrency’s available supply.
“You may not like Bitcoin as much as we do, but a dispassionate view of Bitcoin as a commodity suggests a turn of the cycle. A good idea is only as good as its timing – SEC-approved ETFs by the world’s top asset managers (BlackRock, Fidelity, et al.) seems imminent.”
Upcoming Bitcoin Halving
The prediction by Bernstein comes in a note where Chhugani initiated coverage of several Bitcoin mining farms. In that, the Bernstein analyst stated the upcoming Bitcoin halving, scheduled for 2024, could see losing miners washed out and clear the path for losing miners to make massive gains. Bitcoin halving is a recurring event that is baked into the cryptocurrency’s underlying code.
During halving, the block rewards for miners are slashed by 50% and is scheduled to take place every four years. This would reduce the number of BTC entering circulation and lead to an increase in value through the simple economic rule of demand and supply. Last week, BTC reached the $35,000 mark, which is its highest level since May 2022. Investors remain hopeful of a green light on pending ETF applications by the end of the year following the Securities and Exchange Commission’s decision not to appeal a key ruling in favor of Grayscale.
Massive Movement Of BTC
Additionally, there has been considerable movement of BTC in the market after three Bitcoin whale addresses transferred 6500 BTC to new addresses. The value of the BTC transferred currently stands at $230 million. The BTC in these addresses were transferred on the 5th of November, 2017, and have been dormant since. The source of the BTC in question originates from the earliest transfer, which was made in July 2011. Some BTC also came from a wallet address marked as F2Pool by bitinfocharts, which may indicate early miners.
Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
