(Kitco News) – Bitcoin’s (BTC) price was consolidating less than 4% below its all-time high of $74,000 in early trading on Thursday with analysts growing increasingly bullish that a new record high will come in a matter of days.
“Bitcoin appears poised for a potential surge towards historic highs, with a mere 4% gap remaining,” said analysts at Secure Digital Markets. “Market sentiment suggests a favorable outlook for the crypto space under a Trump administration, prompting Standard Chartered to revise their BTC price target to $150,000 by year-end under such circumstances.”
“In the near term, projections by the UK bank indicate a potential climb to $80,000 contingent upon Friday's nonfarm payrolls report significantly underperforming expectations,” they added.
Bitcoin’s consolidation at higher levels comes as the European Central Bank (ECB) announced the first interest rate cut in five years, prompting many analysts and economists to declare that the Federal Reserve won’t be far behind as global economic concerns continue to mount.
“The European Central Bank's decision to cut rates for the first time since 2019 intensifies pressure on the Federal Reserve to potentially recalibrate its perceived restrictive policy stance,” Secure Digital Markets said. “While the Fed's upcoming rate decision is anticipated to maintain the status quo, increasing speculation suggests a likelihood of rate cuts in September, with Friday's nonfarm payrolls report for May serving as a key indicator for potential Fed actions amidst observations of a softening labor market.”
Following Nvidia’s Wednesday rally that “propelled it past Apple to become the second-most valuable public U.S. company with a market valuation of $3 trillion” and lifted the S&P 500 to a new record closing high, stock futures “exhibited minimal movement on Thursday morning,” they added.
While analysts at Standard Chartered have reiterated their view that Bitcoin could hit $150,000 by the end of 2024 and see the potential of a $200,000 BTC price by year-end 2025, they also see the recent uptick in momentum pushing the top crypto to a new high in the near term.
“I am sticking with my end-2024 $150K and end-2025 $200K forecasts for BTC,” said Geoffrey Kendrick, head of forex and digital assets research at Standard Chartered. “Before then, if tomorrow’s payrolls data are friendly I would expect a fresh all-time-high to be reached over the weekend.”
Kendrick sees the time between now and the U.S. election in November as a bullish period for cryptocurrencies as they enjoy increased prominence in Washington.
“As we approach the U.S. election, I expect $100K to be reached and then $150k by year-end in the case of a Trump victory,” he added.
Even more bullish is Rich Dad Poor Dad author Robert Kiyosaki, who sees the potential for King Crypto to hit a price of $350,000 by late August.
“BITCOIN will be $350,000 by August 25, 2024 is not a lie,” Kiyosaki tweeted on Wednesday. “It’s a prediction. It’s speculation, it’s an opinion, but it’s not a lie. It’s suckers bait, but it’s not a lie becuase any prediction about the future is not a lie. I want $350,000 BITCOIN to be a fact, and I want it to be true…. but it is only a prediction.”
“I am confident Bitcoin will hit $350,000 sometime in 2024 but it’s only a target, a dream, and a wish,” he added. “I keep buying more Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana, because [I’m] quite certain their prices will continue to rise.”
“Why am I so confident? Is it because I am certain about BC, Ethereum, and Solana? My answer is ‘No,’” Kiyosaki said. “What I am confident of is the incompetence of our leaders, President Biden, Treasury Secretary Yellin and Fed Chair Powell. Those three are the 3-Stooges in real life and I am certain, I am very confident about their incompetence. Take care. Buy more Gold, Silver, Bitcoin, Solana, and Ethereum. Protect yourself from the 3- Stooges.”
While many may scoff at such a high price prediction, analysis supplied by Philip Swift, creator of on-chain data platform LookIntoBitcoin, provided a hint at what could lead to such an increase.
The most important chart for this bull run has just made a new all-time high.
Are you ready?#bitcoin pic.twitter.com/hZsF6ljsvR— Philip Swift (@PositiveCrypto) June 5, 2024
With Bitcoin and the crypto market being well known for their sensitivity to global liquidity trends, Swift suggested that worldwide liquidity (M2) nearing $100 trillion bodes well for the future of crypto.
M2 is now at a record high of $94 trillion, a value that is $3 trillion higher than when Bitcoin hit its old $69,000 all-time high in late 2021. Since hitting a local low of $85 trillion in late 2022, around the same time as the low point in the most recent crypto winter, M2 has rebounded 10%, while BTC increased more than 340% to hit a new record high.
Bitcoin is also in the process of breaking out from a seven-year consolidation period versus the U.S. M1 money supply.
Significant.#Bitcoin has only seen blow-off tops after breakouts against M1 money supply.
And the longer it's consolidated, the longer it's run.
This breakout follows the longest consolidation yet. pic.twitter.com/C7duCsvO5D— TechDev (@TechDev_52) June 1, 2024
“In fact, it represents a textbook breakout of a 5-year broadening wedge,” TecDev said. “The last 5 years have been corrective against M1. $BTC is once again impulsive against it for the first time since 2017. We've never seen a #Bitcoin breakout like this one.”
Veteran trader Peter Brandt also noted Bitcoin’s price performance versus the M1 money supply and highlighted the bullish formation of an inverse head and shoulder pattern on the chart.
“The argument for Bitcoin relates to the eventual destruction of fiat currency units (e.g., $USD),” Brandt tweeted. “This chart plots [the] price of Bitcoin in relationship to total U.S. money stock (M1). This ratio remains below the Dec 2017 high.”
And for those who think Kiyosaki’s price target is completely out of the realm of possibility, Swift provided the following chart which shows BTC could potentially hit a high of $364,541 in the current cycle.
#bitcoin cycle top indicators are continuing to climb higher. Current levels:
Delta Top: $137,579
Terminal Price: $148,390
Top Cap: $364,541
Do you think #bitcoin price can reach those indicators this cycle? pic.twitter.com/gSwtHZX3TH— Philip Swift (@PositiveCrypto) May 31, 2024
At the time of writing, Bitcoin trades at $71,425, an increase of 0.43% on the 24-hour chart.
BTC/USD Chart by TradingView
