Crypto winter is over — and bitcoin could hit $100,000 by the end of 2024, Standard Chartered says
Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, has been stealthily rising in 2023.
Chris Ratcliffe | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Bitcoin’s value could jump to as much as $100,000 by the end of 2024, Standard Chartered said in a note published Monday.
The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and other mid-tier U.S. lenders has solidified the case for bitcoin as a “decentralised, trustless and scarce digital asset,” Standard Chartered analyst Geoff Kendrick said in the note.
related investing news
“We see potential for Bitcoin (BTC) to reach the USD 100,000 level by end-2024, as we believe the much-touted ‘crypto winter’ is finally over,” Kendrick said in the report, titled “Bitcoin — Pathway to the USD 100,000 level.”
“The current stress in the traditional banking sector is highly conducive to BTC outperformance – and validates the original premise for Bitcoin as a decentralised, trustless and scarce digital asset,” Kendrick added.
“Given these advantages, we think BTC’s share of total digital assets market cap could move into the 50-60% range in the next few months (from around 45% currently).”
Bitcoin was trading at $27,601.55 as of 9:40 a.m. ET, according to CoinGecko data.
The woes of Circle’s USD Coin and other so-called stablecoins, which aim to achieve a 1-to-1 peg to the U.S. dollar, has also benefited bitcoin, Kendrick said.
USDC lost its peg to the dollar after its issuer Circle revealed exposure to SVB. The coin has since regained its $1 value, however its total market value has fallen to $30.7 billion from more than $43 billion since Mar. 10 when the bank was placed into receivership by the U.S. government, according to CoinGecko data.
This, coupled with a stabilization of risk assets and speculation that the Federal Reserve will ease monetary tightening further, means the “pathway to the USD 100,000 level is becoming clearer,” Kendrick said.
Proponents of bitcoin maintain the digital currency is an asset worth diversifying into in times of economic distress. As the theory goes, bitcoin has a limited supply of 21 million bitcoins, meaning it should appreciate as demand for alternative assets grows to avoid the effects of high inflation.
The cryptocurrency failed that test last year when it plunged 65%, marking the second-worse year for bitcoin of all time amid a tumultuous backdrop of multibillion-dollar flameouts such as FTX and Terra and regulatory clampdowns.
More recently, however, the token has been climbing, suggesting a recovery may be on the cards. Bitcoin is up 66% since the start of the year — though it has fallen sharply since breaching $30,000 two weeks ago.
“The associated price jump – from below USD 20,000 before the SVB issues to above USD 30,000 – has dramatically increased the profitability of Bitcoin mining companies,” Kendrick wrote.
Bitcoin miners are volunteers who allocate computing power toward solving complex cryptographic puzzles in order to verify transactions are genuine and mint new units of currency.
“With the price of BTC now well above our USD 15,000 estimate of direct costs, miners are unlikely to sell many coins,” Kendrick said, noting that this would be a positive development for the cryptocurrency as miners are a major driving force for the market given the size of their holdings.
“The broader macro backdrop for risky assets is also gradually improving as the FOMC nears the end of its tightening cycle. While BTC can trade well when risky assets suffer, correlations to the Nasdaq suggest that it should trade better if risky assets improve broadly.”
Bitcoin’s price outlook
Standard Chartered isn’t the only one predicting a strong rally of bitcoin’s price. Last month, at a blockchain conference in Paris, multiple crypto industry insiders forecast bitcoin hitting a new all-time high in 2023 — with an executive at U.S.-headquartered cryptocurrency exchange Gemini telling CNBC $100,000 could be a possibility.
Last year, CNBC quizzed multiple venture capitalists, investors and analysts on how they think the digital currency will perform in 2023. On the bullish end of the spectrum, Draper Associates founder and noted bitcoin bull Tim Draper said he thought the cryptocurrency could reach $250,000.
Ironically, on the bearish end, Standard Chartered said that the cryptocurrency could tumble as low as $5,000 in a list of market surprise for 2023.
Some crypto investors are pointing to anticipation of the next so-called bitcoin “halving,” which reduces the rewards to bitcoin miners by 50%, as a potential catalyst for another monster rally in the coin’s price.
— CNBC’s Arjun Kharpal contributed to this report
A Waymo autonomous self-driving Jaguar electric vehicle sits parked at an EVgo charging station in Los Angeles, California, on May 15, 2024.
Patrick T. Fallon | AFP | Getty Images
Waymo said it will begin testing in Philadelphia, with a limited fleet of vehicles and human safety drivers behind the wheel.
“This city is a National Treasure,” Waymo wrote in a post on X on Monday. “It’s a city of love, where eagles fly with a gritty spirit and cheese that spreads and cheese that steaks. Our road trip continues to Philly next.”
The Alphabet-owned company confirmed to CNBC that it will be testing in Pennsylvania’s largest city through the fall, adding that the initial fleet of cars will be manually driven through the more complex parts of Philadelphia, including downtown and on freeways.
“Folks will see our vehicles driving at all hours throughout various neighborhoods, from North Central to Eastwick, and from University City to as far east as the Delaware River,” a Waymo spokesperson said.
With its so-called road trips, Waymo seeks to collect mapping data and evaluate how its autonomous technology, Waymo Driver, performs in new environments, handling traffic patterns and local infrastructure. Road trips are often used a way for the company to gauge whether it can potentially offer a paid ride share service in a particular location.
The expanded testing, which will go through the fall, comes as Waymo aims for a broader rollout. Last month, the company announced plans to drive vehicles manually in New York for testing, marking the first step toward potentially cracking the largest U.S. city. Waymo applied for a permit with the New York City Department of Transportation to operate autonomously with a trained specialist behind the wheel in Manhattan. State law currently doesn’t allow for such driverless operations.
Waymo One provides more than 250,000 paid trips each week across Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Austin, Texas, and is preparing to bring fully autonomous rides to Atlanta, Miami, and Washington, D.C., in 2026.
Alphabet has been under pressure to monetize artificial intelligence products as it bolsters spending on infrastructure. Alphabet’s “Other Bets” segment, which includes Waymo, brought in revenue of $1.65 billion in 2024, up from $1.53 billion in 2023. However, the segment lost $4.44 billion last year, compared to a loss of $4.09 billion the previous year.
Technology
Trump advisor Navarro rips Apple’s Tim Cook for not moving production out of China fast enough
White House trade advisor Peter Navarro chastised Apple CEO Tim Cook on Monday over the company’s response to pressure from the Trump administration to make more of its products outside of China.
“Going back to the first Trump term, Tim Cook has continually asked for more time in order to move his factories out of China,” Navarro said in an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street.” “I mean it’s the longest-running soap opera in Silicon Valley.”
CNBC has reached out to Apple for comment on Navarro’s criticism.
President Donald Trump has in recent months ramped up demands for Apple to move production of its iconic iPhone to the U.S. from overseas. Apple’s flagship phone is produced primarily in China, but the company has increasingly boosted production in India, partly to avoid the higher cost of Trump’s tariffs.
Trump in May warned Apple would have to pay a tariff of 25% or more for iPhones made outside the U.S. In separate remarks, Trump said he told Cook, “I don’t want you building in India.”
Analysts and supply chain experts have argued it would be impossible for Apple to completely move iPhone production to the U.S. By some estimates, a U.S.-made iPhone could cost as much as $3,500.
Navarro said Cook isn’t shifting production out of China quickly enough.
“With all these new advanced manufacturing techniques and the way things are moving with AI and things like that, it’s inconceivable to me that Tim Cook could not produce his iPhones elsewhere around the world and in this country,” Navarro said.
Apple currently makes very few products in the U.S. During Trump’s first term, Apple extended its commitment to assemble the $3,000 Mac Pro in Texas.
In February, Apple said it would spend $500 billion within the U.S., including on assembling some AI servers.
WATCH: Apple’s $500 billion investment: For AI servers not manufacturing iPhones
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Sports2 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike