Bitcoin price: Standard Chartered says $150,000 level in 2024 'now looks likely'

investing.com:

Bitcoin price has continued to move higher in March, which is in line with historical trends heading into the much-anticipated halving event.

BTC price recently surged to over $73,000 correcting to below $65,000 on profit taking. At the time of writing, Bitcoin price exchanged hands at around $67,500.

A year-to-date increase stands at more than 60% while the 12-month jump has exceeded 150%. 

“Bitcoin’s price recovery to previous ATH seems to be faster than previous cycles. Bitcoin’s price is above the previous ATH already, suggesting this cycle may be different and making a significant correction likely,” Menno Martens, Crypto Specialist and Product Manager at VanEck, said to Investing.com.

The recent surge in Bitcoin price is partly driven by the growing demand for spot Bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), offering investors a less risky way to engage with cryptocurrency. 

These ETFs have seen a significant influx of investment, drawing attention for their potential in portfolio diversification. Spot Bitcoin ETFs differ from regular Bitcoin ETFs by allowing direct exposure to Bitcoin itself, rather than futures contracts. 

Managed by firms that issue shares of their Bitcoin holdings, these ETFs provide a bridge for traditional investors to enter the cryptocurrency space by purchasing shares on conventional stock exchanges, bypassing the need to directly hold or manage the cryptocurrency. 

Another reason why Bitcoin prices are rallying is related to the upcoming halving event. A Bitcoin halving is an event where the reward for mining Bitcoin transactions is cut by 50%, happening roughly every four years. 

This mechanism progressively decreases the speed at which new bitcoins are created and introduced into the market,