The cryptocurrency market continued to slide at the end of the week as expectations of the Federal Reserve raising interest rates soon affected investor sentiment. Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization has seen a significant drop. However, at press time, BTC is up 3% in 24 hours and it is trading above the $43k mark. However, with BTC facing bears, selling has become a common sight for investors and traders.
But, the pertinent question here is- Have people given up on Bitcoin?
BTC until the end
Well, Bitcoin enthusiasts are still backing the king coin despite the complaints. Hong Fang, CEO of popular crypto exchange OKCoin recently spoke in an interview with CNBC. She believes it “makes sense” for the price of the top cryptocurrency to hit $100,000 in the long run. Moreover, investors have, in the end, been a little skeptical about Bitcoin. In this regard, Fang opined that the Bitcoin network is “protocol risk free” and as long as it is maintained she is “very bullish on the asset itself.”
“I still believe the $100,000 price point is reasonable, but the timing can be a bit elusive as we are depending on market dynamics,” she added.
Well, the short narrative always has a blurred line attached to it. This makes no difference. Even here, she touched on such glitches that are sure to appear in BTC’s short-term trajectory. The CEO noted that in the short term:
“… Leveraged and derivative products could weigh heavily on the price of the leading cryptocurrency while other assets will compete for capital in the crypto space.”
However, she remains undaunted about her bullishness on Bitcoin. It also echoed PlanB’s S2F model prediction of $100k. Now, whether or not Bitcoin can achieve this is another story entirely.
Hope is not high
Seba Bank CEO Guido Buehler shared the bank’s predictions for where the Bitcoin price is headed with CNBC at the Cryptocurrency Finance Conference. Regarding the price of Bitcoin this year, he said:
“We believe prices will rise. Our internal valuation model shows current prices between $50,000 and $75,000. ”
He further noted, “I’m pretty confident we’ll see that extent. The question is always the right time,” he noted. Well, Seba Bank is a digital asset banking platform licensed by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA).
One of the obvious reasons is institutional investors.
“Institutional money is likely to drive prices up. We are operating as a fully regulated bank in Seba. We have asset groups that are looking for the right time to invest,” asserts Buehler.
Having said that, here are some facts. Bitcoin has been affected on a large scale and as a result interest in the leading cryptocurrency has also suffered. For example, when posting a stellar launch, dwindling interest in the Bitcoin ProShares Strategic Exchange Fund (BITO) currently has the lowest number of CME contracts since November 2021.
Source: BITO