According to Ark Invest’s CEO, the company is closely monitoring bitcoin use cases in emerging markets, where she thinks it’s relatively risk-free. Meanwhile, Standard Chartered Bank raised its Bitcoin’s (BTC) price prediction for 2024 by 50% to $150,000, which was reported on 18th March. According to the report, BTC is anticipated to reach a high of $250,000 in 2025 before settling around $200,000.
Ark Invest CEO talks about Bitcoin
CEO Cathie Wood called Bitcoin (BTC) a “financial super highway.”
Wood’s Ark Invest recently became one of the issuers of a spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), ARKB. She said the asset manager firm is focused on developing markets and the macro environment worldwide. This environment has been “shocked” by the US Federal Reserve’s increase in interest rates, she said during a fireside chat at the Friday Bitcoin Investor Day conference in New York.
“There are signals that not all is well in the world,” she said referring to countries like Nigeria. Due to the country’s depreciating currency, Nigeria was one of the biggest adopters of bitcoin. That’s why Wood sees Bitcoin as a risk-on and risk-off asset.
Out of the 10 bitcoin ETFs released in January, Ark’s spot bitcoin ETF has been one of the most successful.
Mathematically, Wood said bitcoin’s price could easily rise above $3.5 million if more institutions enter this space. She did not provide a new price target, however.
“Bitcoin has miles to go,” she said instead, pointing to her previous price target of $1.5 million.
Standard Chartered previously raised forecast
Previously, Standard Chartered (STAN) reportedly raised its year-end price forecast for Bitcoin to $150,000 from $100,000 on 18th March. According to an emailed investment note received on Monday, the bank predicted BTC would reach a high next year of $250,000, before settling around $200,000.
As of press time, Bitcoin is trading at around $63,000. It was $73,000 at the beginning of the month.
In January, Spot Bitcoin ETFs began trading in the US. However in its analysis, Standard Chartered compared the price of BTC with the price of gold after gold ETFs were introduced in the US.
“We think the gold analogy, in terms of both ETF impact and the optimal portfolio mix, remains a good starting point for estimating the ‘correct’ BTC price level medium-term,” the note said. “If ETF inflows reach our mid-point estimate of $75 billion, and/or if reserve managers buy BTC, we see a good chance of an overshoot to the $250,000 level at some stage in 2025,” it added.