Bitcoin could stay below $69,000 peak for two years, says Binance boss

theguardian.com:

Bitcoin could stay below its historical high of $69,000 for the next two years after the latest digital asset market rout, according to the chief executive of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange.

Changpeng Zhao, founder and chief executive of Binance, said people would have been “very happy” four years ago had they been told that bitcoin would be trading at $20,000 in 2022. The cornerstone crypto asset fell below that level at the weekend in a symbolic move that represented a wipeout of gains for many long-term bitcoin holders.

“I think given this price drop, from the all-time high of 68k to 20k now, it will probably take a while to get back. It probably will take a few months or a couple of years,” Zhao told the Guardian, adding that “no one can predict the future”.

He added: “20k we think is very low today. But you know, in 2018, 2019, if you told people bitcoin will be 20k in 2022, they would be very happy. In 2018/19, bitcoin was $3,000, $6,000.”

On Wednesday, bitcoin was trading at $20,491 according to CoinDesk, having hit levels not seen since late 2020 at the weekend.

Asked whether he considered the current fluctuations in bitcoin and crypto prices to be “normal”, as he had described them in an interview earlier this month, he said: “If you look at the bottom [of bitcoin], right now it’s higher than the last peak. So, whether normal or not, I think with the industry still definitely growing, fluctuations in price is normal.”

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have been affected by several factors including stock market declines linked to rising inflation and ensuing hikes in interest by central banks. Raising rates – a path taken by the US, UK and Swiss central banks last week – can make risky assets less