Bitcoin
is
set
for
more
price
gains
later
this
year,
even
after
a
recent
retreat
in
prices,
according
to
Standard
Chartered’s
top
crypto
analyst.
Geoffrey
Kendrick,
head
of
foreign
exchange
research,
West,
and
digital
assets
research
at
Standard
Chartered,
said
in
a
research
note
this
week
that
he
sees
bitcoin
rising
to
$150,000
per
coin,
and
ether
hitting
$8,000
by
the
end
of
2024
—
doubling
down
on
a
bullish
prediction
from
the
bank
earlier
this
year.
“We
think
the
bad
news
is
already
priced
in
for
BTC
and
ETH,
and
that
positive
structural
drivers
will
take
over
again
as
negative
drivers
fade,”
Kendrick
said
in
the
April
22
note.
“In
addition,
market
positioning
is
now
much
cleaner
than
it
was;
USD
261mn
of
leveraged
long
positions
were
removed
from
BTC
futures
alone
on
13
April
–
the
largest
daily
liquidation
since
at
least
October
2023
–
in
response
to
Iran’s
attack
on
Israel
that
day.”
Kendrick
was
referring
to
the
liquidation
of
speculative
bitcoin
trades
that
were
augmented
by
investors
using
borrowed
cash
to
make
bigger
bets
on
the
future
swings
in
the
price
of
the
cryptocurrency.
Bitcoin
temporarily
sank
below
$60,000
last
week
as
traders
reacted
to
news
of
an
escalating
military
conflict
between
Iran
and
Israel.
While
the
cryptocurrency’s
proponents
believe
bitcoin
to
be
a
hedge
against
periods
of
economic
and
geopolitical
instability,
bitcoin
has
behaved
more
like
traditional
risk
assets,
like
equities,
in
recent
years,
as
more
institutional
investors
have
piled
money
into
the
asset.
In
fact,
bitcoin’s
trading
has
shown
it
can
often
react
to
bad
news
more
quickly
than
equity
traders
as
the
crypto
market
runs
24/7,
while
stocks
and
other
conventional
markets
trade
only
during
weekdays.
Still,
despite
bitcoin’s
losses
in
the
wake
of
Iran’s
recent
attack
on
Israel,
Kendrick
believes
the
cryptocurrency
has
potential
to
move
higher
in
the
coming
months
and
hit
a
fresh
record
high
well
above
the
$73,797.68
price
it
hit
on
March
14.
Kendrick
said
that
the
supply
shock
from
bitcoin’s
halving
—
which
limits
the
supply
of
new
bitcoin
issuance
to
3.125
bitcoins,
or
about
$208,360.31
as
of
Wednesday,
down
from
6.25
bitcoins
—
as
well
as
the
arrival
of
new
bitcoin
exchange-traded
funds,
which
are
sucking
up
billions’
of
dollars
worth
of
the
cryptocurrency
from
exchanges,
would
support
prices
toward
the
end
of
2024.
That’s
even
as
the
token
contends
with
a
litany
of
other
bad
news,
including
a
stalling
of
new
bitcoin
ETF
inflows
in
the
United
States;
dampening
expectations
for
approval
of
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.
“Yes
BTC
ETF
inflows
in
the
US
have
stalled,
but
now
we
are
passed
the
halving
only
half
as
much
inflow
is
needed
to
cover
net
new
supply,
and
the
global
ETF
backdrop
(UK,
HK)
is
improving.
Also,
large
long
liquidations
over
the
past
couple
of
weeks
mean
that
market
positioning
is
a
lot
cleaner,”
Kendrick
said.
“As
a
result,
with
Middle
East
tensions
easing
I
think
it
is
time
to
re-engage
in
medium-term
longs.”