Analysts at Wall Street brokerage giant Bernstein reportedly think that Bitcoin (BTC) will surge into the $70,000 range by the end of the year.
According to a new report by StreetInsider, analysts Gautam Chhugani and Mahika Sapra say in a new research note that the impact of the recently approved spot BTC exchange-traded funds (ETFs) will drive the top crypto asset by market cap’s price surge.
“In a commodity with a known finite supply curve, any incremental buying demand at this scale will become material to price. ETFs are still 3.5% of total supply, and more than 12% of Bitcoin still sits on exchanges, but it is the net incremental demand that counts given the sell pressure is easier to model.”
The Bernstein analysts also believe US Bitcoin mining firms could grow their operations this year despite the crypto king’s upcoming halving event, which is slated for April and will see mining rewards for BTC cut in half.
“We expect 15% of high-cost miners to cut production in the coming halving, but we expect the low-cost and competitive miners to gain relative share (RIOT and CLSK are our preferred picks).”
Chhugani and Sapra also predict the development of Bitcoin layer-2 protocols will increase the network’s overall efficiency.
“We also expect layer-2s to continue to drive transaction revenues for the miners and economic activity from token mints and NFT (non-fungible token) ordinals to sustain, as the Bitcoin developer ecosystem grows.”
Furthermore, they say that the macroeconomic landscape could be favorable for the flagship digital asset this year.
“If the early election trends suggest a change of regime post elections and with potential changes in the current (crypto unfavorable) leadership at SEC (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission), Bitcoin and broader crypto market could rally off those cues, and the rates could add further fuel to the rally.”
Bitcoin is trading at $44,139 at time of writing.
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