Standard Chartered’s top crypto analyst, Geoffrey Kendrick, remains bullish on Bitcoin and Ether, despite a recent price pullback. In a research note, Kendrick predicts that Bitcoin will rise to $150,000 per coin and Ether will hit $8,000 by the end of 2024. This forecast doubles down on the bank’s earlier bullish prediction made this year.
Kendrick believes that the negative news surrounding Bitcoin and Ether has already been priced in and that positive structural drivers will once again take over. He notes that market positioning has improved, with a significant liquidation of leveraged long positions in Bitcoin futures recently, indicating that speculative trading has subsided.
Kendrick acknowledges that Bitcoin’s price initially dropped below $60,000 after news of the military conflict between Iran and Israel, but he maintains that the cryptocurrency has the potential to move higher in the coming months and reach a fresh record high above its previous peak of $73,797.68.
He cites the supply shock from Bitcoin’s halving, which limits the supply of new Bitcoin issuance, as well as the arrival of new Bitcoin exchange-traded funds, which are attracting billions of dollars worth of the cryptocurrency from exchanges, as factors that will support prices. Kendrick also notes that the global ETF backdrop is improving, with developments in the UK and Hong Kong.
Kendrick’s positive outlook comes despite a litany of recent challenges, including the stalling of new Bitcoin ETF inflows in the United States, dampened expectations for an ether spot ETF in the U.S., a Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit against decentralized exchange Uniswap, higher U.S. Treasury yields, and escalating tensions in the Middle East.
Kendrick believes that with Middle East tensions easing, it is time to re-engage in medium-term bullish positions on Bitcoin.
