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(Kitco News) - The cryptocurrency market consolidated on Wednesday as the momentum generated by the recent spot Bitcoin ETF filings has begun to fade, bringing the focus of crypto investors back to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and its ongoing quest to bring the industry into regulatory compliance.
All traders can do now is wait for the SEC to review the applications that have been submitted and make their judgment on whether to approve the first spot BTC ETF for U.S. markets.
Stocks edged higher ahead of Wednesday’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) report, with some investors expressing hope that improved inflation data could provide the Federal Reserve with a reason to end its interest rate hiking campaign sooner rather than later. At the close of markets, the S&P, Dow and Nasdaq were all in the green, up 0.67%, 0.93%, and 0.55%, respectively.
Data provided by TradingView shows that Bitcoin (BTC) largely traded around support at $30,500 on Tuesday with its price showing signs of compression. This usually results in a notable breakout move, but at this point, there is no clear indication as to which direction the price will head.
BTC/USD Chart by TradingView
Bitcoin to $120K by 2025
On Monday, Standard Chartered delighted crypto proponents with a prediction that BTC will hit $120,000 by the end of 2024, which represents a four-fold increase from the current price.
In response to this prediction, Bradley Duke, Founder and Chief Strategy Officer at the crypto ETP provider ETC Group, said “While predicting the timing of market moves is always tricky, the case for a significant increase in the price of Bitcoin in the foreseeable future is clear.”
He noted that while the supply of Bitcoin remains capped at 21 million BTC, “the current news flow suggests that the demand-side is set to increase significantly,” thanks in large part to the recent spot BTC ETF filing by BlackRock.
“Given their past success rate, the belief is that this application is likely to be approved,” he said. “This will enable massive pent-up demand for Bitcoin in the U.S. and elsewhere to finally be able to flow into the market, and it's logical that the price of Bitcoin respond in a proportionate manner.”
Greg Moritz, co-founder of AltTab Capital, said “While there can be no guarantees when it comes to price movement, Standard Chartered's bullish expectations are in line with ours.”
Moritz also factored in the upcoming Bitcoin halving as a reason the bullish case for Bitcoin is gaining strength.
“When looking at the historical price action of Bitcoin, it tends to move in a 4-year cycle with year 1 (2022) having 70-90% crashes, followed by strong growth in the following 3 years,” he said. “Next year will be the Bitcoin "halving", a programmed occurrence in which the rate of new Bitcoins being produced is reduced by half, increasing scarcity. As scarcity increases and demand grows, assets generally rise in price.”
To go along with the recent ETF filings, which “represent the potential for massive capital inflow to the space,” Moritz said AltTab Capital has “seen a very large uptick in interest from institutional capital, and when the smart money is getting into an asset class, it's because they too see the potential for strong growth.”
And “Rich Dad Poor Dad” author Robert Kiyosaki also sees a price of $120,000 in Bitcoin's future, but he predicts the imminent release of a gold-backed currency by BRICS as the motivating factor as it will result in trillions of dollars flowing back to U.S. shores.
August 22, 2023, in Johannesburg, South Africa, BRICS nations announce gold backed crypto. US $ will die. Trillions of US $ rush home. Inflation through the roof. Buy Gold,
— Robert Kiyosaki (@theRealKiyosaki) July 11, 2023
Silver. Bitcoin to $120k next year.
Triple-digit gain for Ontology Gas
It was a mixed day for the altcoin market, with a majority of tokens in the top 200 trading in the red while there were a few notable exceptions that put on outsized gains amid weakness in the broader market.
Daily cryptocurrency market performance. Source: Coin360
Ontology Gas (ONG) experienced a 6,000% spike in its 24-hour trading volume which resulted in its price surging 167% to trade at $0.555, while PlayDapp (PLA) gained 98% and Civic (CVC) climbed 33%.
The overall cryptocurrency market cap now stands at $1.19 trillion, and Bitcoin’s dominance rate is 50%.
