Bear Market Over, Bitcoin to Hit $100K, Says Standard Chartered

The crypto winter is over, according to a top researcher at Standard Chartered. Bitcoin is likely to reach $100,000 by end of next year, the researcher argued.

Standard Chartered Official Weighs In

According to a report from Standard Chartered’s head of digital assets research, Geoff Kendrick, the top cryptocurrency Bitcoin may reach $100,000 by the end of 2024. A CNBC story on Monday quoted excerpts from Kendrick’s report.

“We see potential for Bitcoin (BTC) to reach the USD $100,000 level by end-2024, as we believe the much-touted ‘crypto winter’ is finally over,” Kendrick said his report, titled “Bitcoin — Pathway to the USD 100,000 level.”

Kendrick suggested that Bitcoin could benefit from several factors. Namely, the recent instability in the banking sector, a stabilization of risk assets due to the end of the US Federal Reserve’s rate-hiking cycle, and improved profitability of crypto mining. 

While uncertainties persist, Kendrick argued that the path to the $100,000 level is becoming clearer. Bitcoin has already rallied this year, surpassing $30,000 in April for the first time in ten months. 

The gains represent a partial recovery after the crypto sector lost trillions of dollars in 2022, following central banks’ interest rate hikes and the high-profile implosions of crypto firms. 

Observers Bullish on Bitcoin

It’s not just Standard Chartered that has grown increasingly bullish on Bitcoin’s prospects in recent months. Robert Kiyosaki, famous for his personal finance book Rich Dad, Poor Dad, has recently predicted BTC will top $100K.

In an April 20 tweet, Kiyosaki wrote of having bought lots of the cryptocurrency, citing its decentralized non-fiat nature. “WHY? Because people support BC not FED or GOV. BC did not need FED or Gov bailout because BC people’s money,” he wrote.

In a recent note, Markus Thielen, the head of research at Matrixport, predicted that Bitcoin will reach approximately $65,623 by April 2024. Bitcoin bull Tim Draper has told Yahoo! Finance that Bitcoin will likely soar to $250,000 within a year. However, Draper has made the same prediction for the past three years.

Predictions of high valuations have been common during Bitcoin’s past rallies. One Citi analyst’s statement in November 2020 said that Bitcoin could rise as high as $318,000 by the end of 2022. It closed last year at $16,500, down about 65%.

Most crypto investors believe that the upcoming “Bitcoin halving,” which cuts the rewards given to Bitcoin miners by 50%, could be a triggering event for another significant surge in the coin’s value.