Standard Chartered boosts 2024 bitcoin forecast to $120,000

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Standard Chartered said on Monday, predicting the recent jump in its price could encourage bitcoin «miners» to hoard more of the supply. Standard Chartered published a $100,000 end-2024 forecast for bitcoin back in April on the view the so-called «crypto winter» was over, but one of the bank's top FX analysts, Geoff Kendrick, said there was now 20% «upside» to that call. «Increased miner profitability per BTC (bitcoin) mined means they can sell less while maintaining cash inflows, reducing net BTC supply and pushing BTC prices higher,» Kendrick said in a report. Bitcoin's price has leapt 80% since the start of the year but its current level of just over $30,200 is still less than half the $69,000 it peaked back in November 2021.

Did you Know?

SAP has launched a new enterprise on the Metaverse with the aim of accelerating cloud adoption among Indian firms. The interactive and immersive ‘cloud on wheels’ platform will enable customers to experience the full range of SAP’s offerings and reimagine processes for improved business outcomes.

Trillions of dollars were wiped from the crypto sector in 2022, as central banks hiked rates and a string of crypto firms, such as the FTX exchange, imploded. This year's collapse of a number of traditional-style banks though has fed the rebound. Standard Chartered said the rationale for its predicted price rise was that miners who mint the 900 new bitcoins produced each day around the world would soon need to sell fewer to cover their costs — mostly electricity to power super-computers. Kendrick estimated that miners have recently been selling 100% of their new coins. If the price hits $50,000 though, they would probably only sell 20-30%. «It is the equivalent of miners