Their analysts saw BTC potentially surging to $100,000 by the end of 2024 thanks to improving fundamentals. After a turbulent 2022 shook the digital asset industry, is Standard Chartered backing away from its outlook?
Quite the contrary - they've reaffirmed conviction that key developments will indeed propel Bitcoin to levels nearing six figures in the next two years. Let's examine Standard Chartered's latest forecast analysis while also unpacking the undercurrents they see enabling new all-time highs.
Revisiting $100K BTC Predictions After Crypto Volatility
When Standard Chartered released projections in late 2022 calling for $100,000 Bitcoin before 2025, some may have written it off as institutional hopium amidst downward trending markets.
In fact, their analysts doubled down on this ambitious valuation despite choppy trading activity plaguing most crypto assets. What underpins their conviction in outstanding returns?
Standard Chartered points towards a convergence of mounting adoption with restricted supply growth. They see demand primed to surge from greater mainstream acceptance and platforms just as coded caps limit Mintable supply: “Greater adoption complements Bitcoin's finite supply, which is capped at 21 million coins.”
The report also predicts the wealth effect spreading from younger generations: “The great wealth transfer from baby boomers could catalyze the institutional adoption of digital assets.” Poised to drive this even further are upcoming shifts around access and issuance.
Upcoming BTC Policy Developments Attributed To Price Rally
Standard Chartered cites two key events expected on the 2024 timeline that could be game-changers for realizing exponential Bitcoin growth. These include:
1. Spot ETF Approvals
A spot bitcoin ETF provides direct exposure to BTC itself rather than futures contracts. Standing in the way so far was a protective SEC hesitating to greenlight products before adequate oversight tools were in place.
Following years of rejection, 2022 saw the breakthrough arrival of the first U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs. And coming policies look poised to expand options. “We expect further spot ETFs launches for BTC and ETH, broadening access.” Simplifying investment exposure often results in capital inflows due to lowered barriers. Standard Chartered predicts this could unleash a flood of institutional dollars.
2. 2024 Bitcoin Halving
The Bitcoin halving refers to periodic supply reductions ingrained in Bitcoin's network protocol. Approximately every 4 years the block reward paid to miners gets cut 50% to control minting rates.
2024 will see the next halving slash BTC creation down from 6.25 coins per block to just 3.125. Standard Chartered suggests diminishing inflation could trigger mania. “There has been exponential price growth after each halving - the next one is slated for April 2024.”
With buyers already outpacing sellers, increased scarcity from halved subsidies presents a recipe for supply squeezes (assuming demand keeps ticking upwards through adoption improvements). Factoring these catalysts together paints a picture conducive for substantial value expansion. But are six-figure BTC prices by December 2024 still realistic?
Firm Bitcoin 2024 Predictions Plus a Friendly Wager
Standard Chartered made waves when it first floated ~$120k average Bitcoin prices materializing in 2023. Walking that target back modestly, their updated base case calls for breaching $100k by the end of 2024.
“We predict Bitcoin will hit $100,000 driven by institutional money looking to hedge inflation and as ETFs open the floodgates. I’ll happily put a friendly wager on us hitting that by end of 2024!”Lead Cryptocurrency Analyst at Standard Chartered, Geoffrey Kendrick
And with mining economics still profitable despite depressed prices, new coin sales from miners dropped over 80% recently. “Withholding supply to avoid capital losses has led to falling miner inventories - from 1.2 million Bitcoin in December 2021 to just 200,000 as of January 2023.”
This reluctance to offload means institutional inflows stand ready to absorb liquidity entering the market without crashing prices. So as 2023 unfolds, Standard Chartered remains staunch in forecasts for fresh all-time highs by the end of next year stoked by policy shifts acting as accelerants on already strong network intrigue.
Of course, guarantees elude the cryptocurrency arena. But their analysts present a compelling picture under which conditions align for Bitcoin to ascend upwards through hovering storm clouds back into sunny six-figure territory.