In an August 16 interview, market strategy and research firm, Fundstrat, claimed the price of Bitcoin (BTC) will zoom past a mind numbing $150,000 by the end of 2024 if the string of spot Bitcoin exchnage traded funds (ETF) get approved in the coming days.
Speaking at CNBC’s Squawk Box, Fundstrat’s managing partner and head of research, Tom Lee said the demand for Bitcoin (BTC) will be greater than the supply, triggering a considerable price appreciation if only the extensive list of United States spot-Bitcoin ETFs are approved.
Bitcoin to the Moon!
When asked what the price of Bitcoin could be by the end of next year, Lee noted the firm’s crypto strategists predicted a clearing price of $150,000 to $180,000. Fundstrat reiterated,
“If the spot Bitcoin (ETF) gets approved, I think the demand will be greater than the daily supply of Bitcoin, so the clearing price […] is over $150,000, it could even be like $180,000.”
Furthermore, the Fundstrat exec suggested even if the spot ETF applications are rejected, Bitcoin’s next halving event, expected to take place in April 2024 will push BTC prices significantly. Lee declared the halving event would still create demand and price gains, “but it won’t be six figures.”
This is not the first time Lee has made such bold predictions regarding the largest digital asset. In August 2021, he said that BTC prices would reach $100,000 by the end of the year. Although initially, it peaked at $69,000 in November but declined into a multi-year bear market after that.
Additionally, in February 2022, he predicted that the Bitcoin price could surge to $200,000. However, by the end of 2022, BTC had slumped to a low of $16,000 following a turbulent year in the digital asset market.
Earlier this year, Fundstrat published a note, highlighting that while Bitcoin’s daily demand of about $25 million is equivalent to daily mining rewards of about $25 million, that could change with the potential launch of a Bitcoin ETF.
The investment research firm claimed an approved Bitcoin ETF could add an extra $100 million in incremental daily demand for BTC. Fundstrat wrote,
“This [bitcoin ETF launch] would bring daily demand to $125 million, while daily supply is only $25 million. The implied equilibrium price would need to rise so daily supply matches daily demand. Equilibrium analysis suggests that a clearing price is $140,000 to $180,000, before the April 2024 halvening.”
Global Organizations Bet Big on BTC, Just Like Fundstrat
It seems Fundstrat is not the only firm to bet big on BTC prices. In June 2023, analysts at Standard Chartered claimed the OG cryptocurrency could reach $50,000 this year and $120,000 by the end of 2024. Geoff Kendrick, one of the analysts at Statdard Chartered, said BTC price will almost quadruple as increasingly cash-rich miners reduce their sales of the token. He added,
“Increased miner profitability per BTC mined means they can sell less while maintaining cash inflows, reducing net BTC supply and pushing BTC prices higher.”
While other analysts have suggested that a $100,000 Bitcoin price could come much sooner than expected. Recently, Blockstream CEO Adam Back asserted that Bitcoin (BTC) will notch the new price milestone the month before the halving event.
It also seems Bitcoin prices may pump more as the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) keeps delaying decisions on Bitcoin ETF bids. On August 15, popular Bitcoin-focused X account “BTC_for_Freedom” suggested the longer these delays take, the greater chance the community has to accumulate BTC for long-term holding.
This means that with demand for BTC rising, by the time the SEC starts approving Bitcoin ETFs, the price of the flagship cryptocurrency may shoot up even higher.
Bitcoin Drops to 8 Week Low
Keeping the bold predictions aside, Bitcoin slid below the $29K mark, lending a gloomy outlook to the overall market on Thursday. According to CoinMarketCap, BTC dropped 1.91% in the last 24 hours to currently trade at $28,598. Meanwhile, the flagship token is down more than 3% in the past seven days.
Owing to the current market situation, one anayst said that BTC looked very weak and a “savage breakdown” could be imminent. On August 15, Jesse Myer, the co-founder of Bitcoin investment firm Onramp explained that the market would only price in the changed reality 12-18 months post-halving, adding
“Bitcoin won’t surge to $100k before the next halving.”
