With Bitcoin, the largest digital currency by market capitalization, creeping towards $9,000 and on pace for its best monthly performance since 2017, despite continued delays on the fate of bitcoin exchange traded funds, one analyst sees the cryptocurrency pegging a lofty target incredibly soon.
Jehan Chu, co-founder and managing partner at Kenetic, sees Bitcoin rising to 30,000 by the end of the year. He explains how a variety of factors affects this rise.
“I think 10 years out, from the Bitcoin story, we are starting to see a story become reality. And what people are really seeing now, is that cryptocurrency is not going away. And you don’t have to take my word for it. It’s Facebook, it’s Jamie Diamond, it’s Fidelity, all who are getting in the space, either in building infrastructure or providing services. So that’s first. It’s going to drive mind-share, it’s going to drive adoption. Second, I think what we are seeing is a counter-cyclical argument, with recent, you know, disappointments of Uber and Lyft IPOing in the market, people are looking for a different type of tech story, and one that’s perhaps accessible to all. And finally, the Bitcoin halving is coming. And traditionally that’s pushed the price, you know, in double digit percentage. So a combination of these three factors will really see us getting from where we are now to $30,000.” Chu said in a call on CNBC.
When asked how other cryptocurrencies might benefit from the current upward trajectory that Bitcoin is enjoying, Chu commented:
“Bitcoin is the biggest brand, it’s the massive elephant in the room, and it definitely has a center of gravity that many other cryptocurrencies and coins benefit from. It’s going to pull up the rest of the market. But, in truth, many of the different applications that back the cryptocurrencies of their own right, are developing on their own story, and developing utility. So these are all their alt coins, that have their own large market caps, like Ether, which is coming up to it’s own all year highs.”
Chu also believes that Etherium and Ripple are good cryptocurrencies to screen for movement as well.
“From a utility standpoint, we are seeing Etherium as the lead, the rate of adoption and the rate of development that the Etherium team is providing a decentralized global computer is just astounding. People keep saying that Etherium is going away, but it’s not going away. It’s still one of the largest coins in the world, with the largest developer audience…So I think Etherium is definitely a bullish call. I’m also interested to see what Ripple does. I think Ripple has made great headway in providing different types of payment currencies to many of the banks, and getting key partnerships around the world.”
Lastly, Chu did note that he does not expect a cryptocurrency ETF to be released anytime soon, stating that he sees most of the volume and boost in Bitcoin and other alt currencies resulting from institutional interest.
“To be honest, I’m not waiting with bated breath on an ETF to be listed anytime soon,” the analyst said.