(Kitco News) - This year has been momentous for Bitcoin, but after witnessing new record highs and historic spot ETF launches, what can investors expect for the last quarter? Cory Klippsten, CEO of Swan Bitcoin, shares his forecast as he doubles down on his $1 million Bitcoin price target by 2030.
Bitcoin's 2024 milestones & record highs
Spot Bitcoin ETFs saw massive success in the U.S. this year, surpassing the market cap of traditional silver ETFs in just the first week after their launch.
"The institutional floodgates are open, and it's starting to rush in," Klippsten told Michelle Makori, Lead Anchor and Editor-in-Chief at Kitco News. "SpotBitcoin ETFs have never existed in a bull market. Let's see what happens if Bitcoin starts to see the kind of price rise that it's seen historically – for example, when it went up 110X from trough to peak in 2013 and 22X from trough to peak in 2021. I'm really interested to see if there is kind of like a multiplier effect with the ETFs."
There are now 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs available, with over $54 billion in assets under management.
Klippsten pointed out that spot Bitcoin ETFs could surpass the gold ETFs' AUM as soon as next year. "I would expect Bitcoin ETF aggregate AUM to pass the gold ETFs, if it's only a 2X from here, that should happen next year," Klippsten said.
To find out whether spot Bitcoin ETFs open the door for market manipulation or hurt the original Bitcoin ethos, watch the video above.
Bitcoin hit several new all-time highs this year as prices first surged above $69,000 on March 4 and then rallied to the record high of above $73,000 on March 11-12. Also, Bitcoin became a mainstream political topic, with members from both sides of the aisle attending Bitcoin events, including two presidential candidates, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and former President Donald Trump.
However, according to Klippsten, the macro picture will remain supportive of higher Bitcoin prices regardless of who wins the U.S. election in November. "If you're looking at a macro picture, it seems like presidential elections coincide with money printing after somebody gets elected, no matter which party it is. And that tends to be pretty good for Bitcoin price development as well," he said.
To get Klippsten's take on how various U.S. election outcomes will impact Bitcoin price, watch the video above.
Scenarios to close out 2024 & beyond
Following a September rate cut by the Federal Reserve, Klippsten does not see a major rate-cutting cycle. "My expectation is that it will probably be the only one [rate cut]. I don't think this is going to start a rate-cutting cycle. We'll probably end up staying flat the rest of the year," he noted.
Yet, Klippsten noted that Bitcoin will likely end the year near its record highs. "If I were placing a money bet, I would say that we'll see $75k before December 31, so another $20k up from here. But it wouldn't be a big deal if that was delayed into Q1," he stated.
Who is better for Bitcoin – former President Donald Trump or Vice President Kamala Harris? Watch the video above for insights.
Institutional adoption has grown substantially this year, and even U.S. state pension funds have gotten involved. Wisconsin's pension fund allocated roughly $160 million to Blackrock's iShares Bitcoin Trust and Grayscale's Bitcoin Trust, according to a Form 13-F filing to the SEC. This was followed by the State of Michigan Retirement System investing $6.6 million into the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF.
Klippsten pointed to various industry rumors of Bitcoin accumulation by sovereign wealth funds. For the list of who is potentially quietly stockpiling Bitcoin, watch the video above.
In addition, when attending the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville over the summer, former President Donald Trump pledged to make Bitcoin a strategic reserve asset – promising to keep all of Bitcoin currently held by the U.S. “Many Americans do not realize that the U.S. government is among the world's largest holders of Bitcoin – The Federal Government has almost 210,000 Bitcoin or 1% of the total supply that will ever exist,” Trump said. “This will serve, in effect, as the core of a Strategic National Bitcoin Reserve.”
Estimates suggest the government holds more than 200,000 bitcoins, which are worth more than $1.9 billion at today’s prices.
Speaking at the Economic Club of New York at the beginning of September, Trump also called for the creation of a sovereign wealth fund – the term for state-owned organizations that operate like hedge funds or private equity firms.
“I don't put much stock in what politicians say in an election year as they're seeking donations,” said Klippsten. “If there is legislation in the next four years under a Trump administration that actually calls it something like Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. I would lose an even-money bet. I don't expect that to actually happen even under a Trump administration. I could see them maybe not selling the coins, which I think that a Harris administration would probably try to sell those coins.”
In his longer-term outlook, Klippsten doubled down on the $1 million Bitcoin price target by 2030. "I am not going to back off from the prediction I made in 2020. I think we'll have satoshi-cent parity, which means a million dollars a coin by 2030," he said. "It doesn't need any external catalyst other than continued growth and adoption to grow."
For Klippsten's breakdown of how Bitcoin gets to $1 million per coin, watch the video above.
