Bitcoin miners will hoard BTC and drive up prices in the process, with BTC price due to tap $50,000 this year as a result.
Bitcoin (BTC) is in line to hit $50,000 this year and crack all-time highs in 2024, says Standard Chartered.
In a report quoted by media outlets including Reuters on July 10, the banking giant went on record to announce a BTC price recovery.
Standard Chartered vs. 2023 BTC price: From $5,000 to $50,000
In the wake of seismic changes in the institutional approach to Bitcoin in the United States, the mainstream narrative around the largest cryptocurrency is shifting rapidly.
Standard Chartered, which just last year forecast the BTC price dropping as low as $5,000, now believes it will end the year ten times higher.
BTC/USD should reach $50,000 in 2023, the report from the global head of research and chief strategist, Geoff Kendrick, forecasts.
Thereafter, Bitcoin should go on to $120,000 by the end of next year.
The reason, Kendrick believes, lies in supply dynamics. As miners dedicate more and more resources to preserving the network, they are also selling less BTC, creating a supply and demand imbalance that will tip in the bulls’ favor.
“Increased miner profitability per BTC (bitcoin) mined means they can sell less while maintaining cash inflows, reducing net BTC supply and pushing BTC prices higher,” the report states.
Standard Chartered is already active in crypto, with its crypto custody platform Zodia raising $36 million in a Series A funding round in April.
A sign of the pro-Bitcoin times
A major bank predicting a rosy future for BTC prices is just one instance of what an analyst recently dubbed the “BlackRock effect.”
BlackRock’s move to file for a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund, repeated by several major asset managers, has sparked a turnaround in how mainstream media treats Bitcoin.
According to Arthur Hayes, former CEO of exchange BitMEX, the unwavering course of technological improvements worldwide will in itself launch BTC sky high.
Artificial intelligence is foremost on the radar, with Hayes believing that it will select Bitcoin as its currency of choice thanks to its unique attributes.
This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.