After a brief decline that saw it lose about 10% of its value, Bitcoin is now up 78% year to date after briefly hitting the $30,000 barrier for the first time in nearly 10 months. At this point, BTC has overshadowed every other cryptocurrency in the market and is performing rather well.
How much further can BTC rise this year, though?
According to reports, Standard Chartered Bank updated its price prediction for BTC and pegged the cryptocurrency at a $100,000 target from now until mid-April 2024.
From an analysis of the charts, this would indicate a massive rally that would see BTC more than triple in value in under 20 months, based on current prices.
Let us explore some of the presumptions that were made by Standard Chartered and other sources, to establish how possible a $100,000 price target is.
Recently, Bloomberg reported that researchers at Goldman Sachs examined data on BTC from a crucial viewpoint, in a study that was published on January 4.
The analysts specifically pointed out that BTC has increased its market share in the "store of value" sector, currently sitting at 20%, up from a negligible presence even in 2020.
If this growth keeps up its current pace, Goldman Sachs analysts predicted that Bitcoin's valuation will easily reach the $100,000 mark in five years or less.
Goldman Sachs isn't alone on this price prediction for BTC.
For instance, JPMorgan researchers also provided data only last October, demonstrating how Bitcoin has been edging out gold's market share in recent months, with the price of gold remaining largely stable during the epidemic while Bitcoin's price surged.
The $100,000 valuation of BTC will come as a result, claims Goldman Sachs, if this trend maintains itself at an acceptable rate.
However, as far as recent price action on BTC goes, the current macroeconomic climate is a major reason why Bitcoin's value might skyrocket to $100,000 soon.
Historically, when macroeconomic circumstances start to appear unfavourable, there is usually a rush among investors to put their money in "safe haven" assets like BTC.
After the initial Silicon Valley Bank banking crisis, there was a rush as investors hurriedly transferred their funds from conventional banks to BTC, which they believed to be a better store of value.
The same phenomenon appears to be occurring right now with First Republic Bank, as Bitcoin's value unexpectedly rose following the bank's stock's March decline.
Standard Chartered also hinted at one other reason that could just be significant enough to push BTC to $100,000.
It's halving.
This phenomenon happens just once every four years and is referred to as the "Bitcoin halving."
The next BTC halving in 2024 is already being hyped up in the cryptocurrency community as a fantastic investment opportunity for Bitcoin holders.
And in fact, the effects of previous halving cycles have been striking.
BTC typically increases in value in the 477 days before a halving, experiences a small pullback, and then skyrockets in value afterwards according to research from cryptocurrency hedge company Pantera Capital.
As a consequence, Pantera predicted that while Bitcoin may not reach $100,000 this year, it will reach $36,000 at least by the beginning of 2024 before soaring to $149,000 in November.
It is important to note that because Bitcoin has performed well before and after halvings in the past, this doesn't mean that history will always repeat itself.
The general consensus seems to be that Bitcoin will be bullish in 2023. However, analysts can't seem to agree on how much the cryptocurrency can rise.
Bitcoin has come under regulatory pressure in recent times, and these issues may pose a threat to the likelihood of Bitcoin's expected price explosion.
The future of Bitcoin is partly dependent on how US financial authorities behave. Bloomberg reports that despite mounting pressure on the economy, the Federal Reserve (Fed) plans to keep hiking the benchmark interest rate as part of its fight against inflation.
None of the experts mentioned are claiming that Bitcoin will surely hit $100,000 this year. However, the fact that there are so many predictions for Bitcoin at this point shows a shift in perspective and sentiment.
Overall, it is entirely possible for Bitcoin to become stuck in a range between two resistances, and end the year at a lacklustre price.
At the end of the day, the general opinion on the flagship cryptocurrency is that it will end the year anywhere from $35,000 to $100,000, depending on how it performs at its ^9,000 all-time high.
Disclaimer: Voice of Crypto aims to deliver accurate and up-to-date information, but it will not be responsible for any missing facts or inaccurate information. Cryptocurrencies are highly volatile financial assets, so research and make your own financial decisions.