An analyst with financial services giant Standard Chartered has offered a prediction on Bitcoin’s (BTC) price for the months leading up to the United States Presidential election. According to the head of the bank’s forex and digital assets research, Geoffrey Kendrick, the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market cap could hit $100,000 before the November election.
In a recent investor note, Kendrick expressed bullishness in the Bitcoin market, adding that a Trump win may also be positive for the asset.
“As we approach the US election, I expect $100,000 to be reached and then $150,000 by year-end in the case of a Trump victory.”
An increase in Bitcoin’s price could translate to more adoption and usage. Bitcoin already serves various purposes across multiple sectors and could see more usage as prices rise. Even though BTC is not legal tender in most parts of the world, it is a popular tool used to exchange value between merchants and customers on several platforms, including e-commerce sites and online gambling platforms like those listed on Bitcoin Casinos LTD.
Crypto Support: Biden Vs. Trump
President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump have opposing views on Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. Biden’s position is evident, especially considering the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been cracking down on the industry for a while. Although the Commission’s reluctance to crypto did not start during Biden’s administration, the enforcement action became more pronounced.
Over time, Biden has seemed uninterested in crypto, a position recently highlighted by the president’s decision to veto the revocation of Staff Accounting Bulletin 121 (SAB 121). The rule was to compel crypto custody firms to include the fair value of digital assets on their balance sheets. Kendrick believes the veto action makes Trump a more attractive president than Biden is to the crypto sector. Interestingly, reports suggest Biden is now reaching out to crypto industry leaders for guidance on favorable policies. This suggests a possible turnaround in the administration’s stance towards crypto. However, many are worried that the seeming interest in the crypto industry might only last while he seeks support for reelection. Last month, Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson made a public plea for voters to ignore Biden. According to the Ethereum co-founder, “a vote for Biden is a vote against the American cryptocurrency industry.”
Another sign of a predisposition to crypto is the SEC’s recent approval of spot Ether (ETH) exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The Commission’s greenlight surprised many because of Gensler’s known aversion to crypto, and a seeming lack of collaboration between issuers and the agency.
On the other hand, crypto enthusiasts might prefer to pitch their tents with Trump because the former president seems more favorably disposed to the industry. Last month, while addressing supporters and buyers of his NFTs, Trump criticized the Biden administration for failing to support crypto and then declared “…if you are in favor of crypto, you better vote for Trump.”
Regardless of the election outcome, Kendrick believes that BTC will hit $200,000 by the end of next year. In the short term, the analyst expects the king coin to hit a new all-time high over the weekend. However, he explains that this is dependent on Payroll’s data.
Bitcoin Predictions and Forecasts
Several enthusiasts have offered various bullish forecasts for Bitcoin. Many of these predictions cite several reasons for the bullishness, including figures recorded in the spot BTC ETF market and the recent network halving.
For instance, “Rich Dad Poor Dad Author” Robert Kiyosaki believes that Bitcoin will hit $350,000 in August. Although he specified in an X post that his August forecast is simply “speculation,” he believes it will happen sometime this year.
Interestingly, Kiyosaki extended his bullishness to ETH and Solana (SOL). However, he offered a different reason. The author explained that his optimistic forecast is primarily because of the “incompetence of our leaders, President Biden, Treasury Secretary [Yellen], and Fed Chair Powell,” and not because he is certain about these assets and their networks. All three assets Kiyosaki favors are popular for their extended use and support of functions like peer-to-peer payments, cross-border transactions, crypto gambling, and investment purposes.
Another interesting prediction recently came from Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz. Speaking to Bloomberg, the billionaire crypto stakeholder said Bitcoin could hit $100,000 or higher if it successfully breaks the $73,000 level. According to him, there are a few reasons why Bitcoin is likely to rise. One of these is the fact that several governments around the world won’t stop spending money. Like many others, Novogratz believes cryptocurrencies, especially Bitcoin, serve as a trusted hedge against inflation.
Novogratz also mentioned that Wisconsin’s pension fund purchased a large amount of Bitcoin. According to a filing with the SEC revealed in May, the State of Wisconsin Investment Board bought shares of Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) and BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) ETFs, worth $164 million as of March 31. The decision was interesting and surprising because large institutions usually do not invest in new ETFs. However, a finance professor at Marquette University based in Milwaukee described the Board as “innovative.” According to David Krause, the Board can afford to make long-term investments like this because it is fully funded and does not need to worry about liquidity.
Novogratz’s optimism that the $73,000 mark could considerably catalyze the asset is similar to crypto analyst Willy Woo’s opinion. The analyst predicted a possible $1.5 billion BTC short liquidation at the $72,000 mark. Woo believes this could push Bitcoin past $75,000 to a new all-time high.
Traders Must Remain Cautious On Journey To $100,000
Popular analyst and creator of the stock-to-flow (S2F) model PlanB also predicted $100,000 in a new YouTube video. The forecast ties in with an earlier prediction, in which PlanB explained that Bitcoin miner revenue usually recovers two to five months after the halving. PlanB says that BTC’s price “goes vertical” in this period.
Despite the bullishness around Bitcoin, traders and investors must consider the possibility of volatility. According to crypto trader Credible Crypto, Bitcoin is trading near its resistance level, making the possibility of a short-term retracement high. The trader believes the volatility may be caused by an increase in open interest, causing a long or short squeeze that could push Bitcoin to break out of this range. Although the analyst believes a short squeeze for an upward break is likely, Credible Crypto advises that traders remain cautious.
