Executives in the cryptocurrency industry have announced a new bull market, with many voices predicting that bitcoin will reach new all-time highs of over $100,000 in 2024. The growing excitement is fueled by the possibility of a bitcoin ETF being approved in the U.S. in the next year, as well as the upcoming halving of bitcoin. Additionally, the market has been relieved of two major issues after the conclusion of the FTX case and the Binance settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice.
The digital currency’s previous record high of nearly $69,000 was reached in November 2021. Since then, the crypto-industry has been plagued by bankruptcies, criminal trials, project and coin collapses, and the fall of FTX, formerly one of the biggest exchanges in history. Sam Bankman-Fried, the exchange’s founder, was found guilty of seven counts of criminal fraud and faces a sentence of over 100 years. Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao also pleaded guilty and resigned as part of a $4.3 billion settlement with the U.S.
In light of these positive developments, investors are now focusing on the potential of the industry. Standard Chartered has made a bold prediction that bitcoin will hit $100,000 by 2024, and Matrixport, a crypto financial service firm, estimated that bitcoin will reach $63,140 by the end of 2021 and $125,000 by the end of 2024. This would be a rally of roughly 160% from Friday’s CoinDesk data, which showed that the current price of bitcoin is $38,413.
Pascal Gauthier, CEO of Ledger, said that the ETF approval means that bitcoin is going mainstream. David Marcus, the former leader of Facebook’s failed Diem stablecoin project, is working on improving bitcoin’s capabilities as a payment network. He believes that once the speculative phase is over, it will become possible for real builders to focus on the technology and the problems it can solve.
The halving of bitcoin, which occurs every four years, is expected to take place in May 2024. When the reward for the work of miners is cut in half, it means that they are no longer able to maintain the Bitcoin network. This keeps a cap on the supply of bitcoin, and often is a factor behind a new rally.
Vijay Ayyar, Vice President of International Markets at CoinDCX, warned that the rally, which is largely built on the expectation of an ETF approval, could fail if it is again rejected by regulators. However, he said that the price of bitcoin could rise to $45,000-$48,000 in the future.
Many commentators believe that easing of monetary policy is supportive for bitcoin, which is seen as a high-risk asset and a “safe haven” in times of geopolitical conflict. Although Gauthier declined to make a prediction on the price, he said that there are strong fundamentals. Ultimately, only time will tell if bitcoin will reach $100,000 in 2024.
