Analysts at investment research firm Bernstein have reaffirmed their prediction that bitcoin (BTC) would reach $150,000 in this bullish cycle despite the asset’s pullback in recent weeks.
According to a recent report, Bernstein analysts Gautam Chhugani and Mahika Sapra said that Bitcoin’s metrics show that the network is in a healthy cycle still in its early stages. Despite the latest slump, the leading cryptocurrency is far from over.
Bernstein reiterates BTC $150,000 prediction
Bernstein first predicted that BTC would rise to $150,000 next year in November 2023 due to optimism surrounding the launch of Bitcoin cash exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the United States. Now, ETFs have received the green light, BTC has reached $73,700 and has fallen to $60,000. but the firm is not deterred in its prediction.
In recent weeks, bitcoin has witnessed significant declines attributed to market participants taking profits and heightened tensions between Iran and Israel. Last week, bears took the reins and pulled the leading digital asset below $57,000, wiping more than $200 billion from the crypto market. While the asset recovered slightly over the weekend and was trading at $64,000 at the time of writing, it may experience further correction in the near term.
Chhugani and Sapra opined that the recent fall in bitcoin removed excess leverage from futures contracts on crypto exchanges. His belief aligns with that of Standard Chartered analyst Geoff Kendrick, who stated two weeks ago that the liquidation of leveraged positions created a more favorable environment and cleared a path for the cryptocurrency market to trend higher taller.
“We feel even better about this call, and Bitcoin metrics indicate a healthy cycle that is still in its early stages. The risk-reward here remains attractive,” Chhugani and Sapra said.
ETF inflows are encouraging
Additionally, Bernstein analysts cited flows into spot ETFs as an encouraging factor along with healthy post-halving transaction fees, steady post-halving hash rate, lower mining rig prices from bitcoins and more purchases of BTC by corporate treasuries.
On Friday, local US Bitcoin ETFs snapped a seven-day outflow streak and saw more than $378 million in inflows. Grayscale’s GBTC, which had seen exits since its launch, witnessed inflows for the first time, receiving $63 million from investors. Chhugani and Sapra said GBTC’s entry was a significant improvement to the market because the other nine ETFs have absorbed the fund’s outflows since launch.
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