BitMEX’s Arthur Hayes Predicts Bitcoin Will Hit $1,000,000 In This Bull Market Cycle

By Newton Gitonga – March 21, 2024

Arthur Hayes, the co-founder of BitMEX, has made a bold prediction regarding Bitcoin’s future price trajectory, suggesting that the top crypto asset could hit $1 million during this ongoing bull market.

During an interview with popular crypto podcaster Anthony Pompliano this week, Hayes expressed confidence in Bitcoin’s long-term prospects, stating, “I think that bitcoin will go to $1 million by the end of this cycle.”

Hayes’ optimism stems from the increasing mainstream adoption of Bitcoin, as evidenced by the ease with which investors can now purchase Bitcoin ETFs with a click of a button. He further expressed belief that the current bull market is still in its nascent stages, fueled by global economic uncertainty and the resulting desire for a hedge against inflation.

“I don’t not think people have big enough imaginations right now [Bitcoin] went so fast as $70,000. Why did it go so fast as $70,000 because a bunch of people now can like click a but check a box and buy some Bitcoin ETF… this bull market is just getting started,” he added.

Notably, Hayes’ prediction aligns with those of Cathie Wood, the CEO of ARK Invest, who recently announced that Bitcoin could reach the $1 million mark before 2030. Wood’s optimism stems from her conviction in Bitcoin’s potential and ability to reshape the global financial landscape.

Moreover, Samson Mow, the Chief Strategy Officer at Blockstream, recently voiced Bitcoin’s future trajectory, saying that it could hit $1 million this year amidst unprecedented demand. Mow’s outlook underscored the increasing demand for Bitcoin as a store of value and hedge against inflation, particularly in the face of economic uncertainty and monetary stimulus measures.

That said, Hayes’ prediction comes amidst heightened volatility and fervent speculation surrounding Bitcoin. After experiencing significant price surges in the past few months and printing a new all-time high of $73,750 earlier this month, Bitcoin is facing a price recoil, mainly attributed to profit-taking, raising questions as to how low it could dip.

Pompliano, however, weighed in on the cryptocurrency’s recent drawdown during an interview with Bloomberg on Wednesday, highlighting Bitcoin’s resilience in the face of recent pullbacks, emphasizing the cryptocurrency’s historical context and long-term growth potential.

“This is actually a very small drawdown in a bull market,” Pompliano stated, comparing the current market correction to previous cycles experienced by Bitcoin.

“I think one of the lessons of Bitcoin over the last 3 four years is no one knows what the future is going to be and we’ve even violated some of those historical rules that people held…we had never seen Bitcoin hit an all-time high before the having both of those rules got broken and so I think we’re in Uncharted territory,” added Pompliano.

Bitcoin traded at $65,000 at press time, reflecting a 0.38% surge over the past 24 hours

DISCLAIMER

The views expressed in the article are wholly those of the author and do not represent those of, nor should they be attributed to, ZyCrypto. This article is not meant to give financial advice. Please carry out your own research before investing in any of the various cryptocurrencies available.

The original article written by Newton Gitonga and posted on Zycrypto.com.

Article reposted on Markethive by Jeffrey Sloe

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Tim Moseley

$538 Million In Crypto Longs Liquidated Amid Market Blood Bath — Is The Bull Run Officially Over?

By Brenda Ngari – March 19, 2024

Crypto’s upward march in recent weeks hit a bump in the road, with Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other major cryptocurrencies suffering a sudden, brutal crash.

Crypto’s latest bloodbath, plunging Bitcoin to sub-$63,000, has led to a colossal $538 million worth of crypto position liquidations within the last 24 hours. Given the severity of the pullback, investors and analysts wonder if this signals the end of the recent crypto bull rally.

Bitcoin Volatility Causes Spike In Long Liquidations

The Bitcoin and wider crypto market has been turbo-charged by the launch of a slew of spot BTC exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on Wall Street in January. The new investment vehicles have attracted billions of dollars since their debut, effectively becoming the fastest-growing ETFs in history.

However, the crypto boom quickly turned to gloom as cryptocurrencies nose-dived. The global crypto market cap has shed 7.1% since yesterday, having briefly fallen below $2.5 trillion.

Just last week, the bellwether crypto set a new lifetime high of $73,737.94. At the time of publication, Bitcoin is trading for $62,797, down 7.9% over the last 24 hours, per data from CoinGecko. So far, the OG crypto has not found a reliable floor. Trader Ali Martinez has examined ground below the $60,000 level, noting, “Some of the key Bitcoin support levels to watch are $61,100, $56,685, and $51,530.”

“On the other hand, critical resistance points for $BTC stand at $66,990 and $72,880.”

Of the $663.17 million in liquidated crypto positions over the past day, just over $538 million were long positions, according to data compiled by CoinGlass. Over 246,087 traders were liquidated over the past 24 hours.

Liquidations happen when a crypto exchange forcefully closes a trader’s leveraged position because of a partial or total loss of the trader’s initial margin or collateral. They happen due to a lack of funds to cover losses. Of the total liquidations in the past 24 hours, Bitcoin experienced roughly $190.91 million in liquidations, of which $147.78 million were long positions.

Altcoins Bleed Out

The price of ether (ETH), the industry’s second-largest crypto, has fared even worse than Bitcoin. ETH recently changed hands at $3,246.11. That’s a 9.9% decline since yesterday and 18.9% lower than it was this time last week when the crypto community was preparing for the implementation of the Dencun upgrade on the mainnet.

In the meantime, meme coins, which saw unprecedented rallies a few weeks ago, have incurred even deeper losses amid crypto-wide retracement.

Solana-based meme coins Dogwifhat (WIF) and Bonk (BONK) have slipped 22.8% and 15.5%, respectively, in the last 24 hours. And Floki Inu (FLOKI), one of the Ethereum-based doggy-themed meme coin rivals, has dropped 18.5% on the day.

DISCLAIMER

The views expressed in the article are wholly those of the author and do not represent those of, nor should they be attributed to, ZyCrypto. This article is not meant to give financial advice. Please carry out your own research before investing in any of the various cryptocurrencies available.

The original article written by Brenda Ngari and posted on ZyCrypto.com.

Article reposted on Markethive by Jeffrey Sloe

** Loans, secure funding for business projects in the USA and around the world. Learn more about USA & International Financing at Commercial Funding International. **

Tim Moseley

Standard Chartered’s Bold Forecast: Bitcoin To Rise To $150,000 This Year

By Brenda Ngari – March 18, 2024

British multinational bank Standard Chartered has upped its Bitcoin price prediction target for end-2024 to $150,000 from the previous estimate of $100,000.

BTC To Hit $150,000 By End-2024

Standard Chartered has projected that by the end of this year, the benchmark crypto Bitcoin may succeed in hitting the $150,000 threshold, up from the previous $100K.

Standard Chartered analysts said last year that Bitcoin could reach $100K in 2024. By July, they had revised their forecast to predict a $120,000 price tag for the same timeframe.

The bank based its analysis for the new $150,000 target on the comparison with the price of gold after U.S. gold exchange-traded funds launched and the correlation between ETF inflows and the price of Bitcoin.

“For 2024, given the sharper-than-expected price gains year-to-date, we now see potential for the BTC price to reach the $150,000 level by year-end, up from our previous estimate of $100,000,” Standard Chartered Bank analysts led by Geoffrey Kendrick said in a March 18 report.

When gold ETFs hit the market, the price of the precious metal surged as new investors gained access to the market. Although gold prices climbed gradually as investors invested money into the ETF product, Standard Chartered contends that the BTC market “will mature much faster.”

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved 11 spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in mid-January after a decade of denials. The BTC investment vehicles then began trading the next day, and have since seen blockbuster success.

As for higher peaks, the bank’s analysts “see a good chance of an overshoot to the $250,000 level at some stage in 2025” if BTC ETF inflows hit their mid-point estimate of $75 billion and/or if forex reserve managers begin purchasing Bitcoin.

“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 report explained.

Is Spot Ether ETF Approval On The Cards?

Standard Chartered also suggested that the SEC could give the approval stamp to spot ether (ETH) ETF later this spring, which will lead to inflows of $45 billion in the first year and ETH smashing the $8,000 level by the end of the year.

Ether is currently priced at $3,508.55 after dropping 3.5% over the past 24 hours, according to CoinGecko data. The second-largest crypto hit an all-time high of $4,878 in November 2021.

Notably, Standard Chartered analysts also think the price of ETH will reach $14,000 in 2025 as Bitcoin soars to $250,000.

That being said, there is little chance of spot ETH ETFs being greenlighted this year, as the Securities and Exchange Commission faces heightened political pressure not to allow ETFs for other crypto assets beyond Bitcoin.

DISCLAIMER

The views expressed in the article are wholly those of the author and do not represent those of, nor should they be attributed to, ZyCrypto. This article is not meant to give financial advice. Please carry out your own research before investing in any of the various cryptocurrencies available.

The original article written by Brenda Ngari and posted on Zycrypto.com.

Article reposted on Markethive by Jeffrey Sloe

** Loans, secure funding for business projects in the USA and around the world. Learn more about USA & International Financing at Commercial Funding International. **

Tim Moseley

‪Bitcoin Slumps Below $67,000 Amidst Crypto Sell-Off, But Solana Bucks The Trend‬

By Brenda Ngari – March 15, 2024

In the early hours of Friday morning, a sharp correction wiped billions of dollars from the total crypto market cap, with Bitcoin (BTC) tumbling below $67,000 per coin.

At publication time, nearly all of the top 20 coins by market value had registered 24-hour losses. In a remarkable exception to the rule, Solana (SOL) was up more than 4% during the same time frame.

Why Is The Crypto Market In Red?

Bitcoin has been on a parabolic tear thanks to the huge success of the newly launched spot BTC exchange-traded funds (ETFs). But then, on Thursday, the U.S. Producer Price Index (PPI) numbers came in above expectations, highlighting the persistent nature of high inflation.

Traders interpreted this data as an indicator that the Federal Reserve will not slash interest rates in May — triggering a sell-off of crypto assets and stocks. In particular, Bitcoin shed over 8% of its value in the space of hours, tumbling to as low as $66,858.

The benchmark crypto has since slightly recovered and is trading hands for $67,418 at press time. But it’s considerably below the $73,737 record high it reached yesterday, CoinGecko data shows.

Another thing denting Bitcoin’s price? Roughly $400 million worth of BTC was moved by Grayscale to its custodian, Coinbase, and Arkham Intelligence data was revealed today. The digital asset manager started moving its BTC to Coinbase for selling after it transformed its flagship GBTC fund to a spot BTC ETF. In January, Grayscale was offloading massive amounts in crypto assets, at one point shifting over $2.1 billion in just days to Coinbase. This caused significant bearish pressure on the price of Bitcoin.

SOL: A Beacon Of Green

Major altcoins Ethereum (ETH), Ripple’s XRP, Cardano (ADA), and Dogecoin (DOGE) also lost 8%-13.4% in the last 24 hours.

However, Solana’s native token SOL showed relative strength amid the sudden crypto market retreat, posting its highest price in 26 months before the slump. Nevertheless, SOL was up 4.8% on the day, making it one of the best-performing assets.

The crypto was recently trading for $173.06, still some 32.6% lower than its 2021 November all-time high. But traders expect a continued upsurge for SOL, suggesting a $250 target price is achievable.

SOL’s surge can be attributed to retail demand for trading Solana-based meme coins such as dogwifhat (WIF), a token that recently saw a meteoric rally.

DISCLAIMER: None Of The Information You Read On ZyCrypto Should Be Regarded As Investment Advice. Cryptocurrencies Are Highly Volatile, Conduct Your Own Research Before Making Any Investment Decisions.

The original article written by Brenda Ngari and posted on ZyCrypto.com.

Article reposted on Markethive by Jeffrey Sloe

** Get secure funding for business projects in the USA and around the world. Learn more about USA & International Financing at Commercial Funding International. **

Tim Moseley

MicroStrategy To Raise Another $500 Million Via Debt Offering To Snap Up More Bitcoin

By Brenda Ngari – March 14, 2024

MicroStrategy, now touting itself as a Bitcoin Development Company, is not slowing down even after acquiring more Bitcoin than every spot BTC exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the United States. The Michael Saylor-led company is launching another private offering of convertible notes to snatch up more BTC.

$500 Million Debt Sale For More Bitcoin

Prominent technology firm MicroStrategy is planning to sell an additional $500 million of its debt to expand its Bitcoin stockpile.

The company announced its latest fundraiser on Wednesday, which will again come in the form of a private senior convertible notes offering, due on March 15, 2031, in order to buy more BTC.

Just days ago, MicroStrategy completed an $800 debt raise, which had been increased from an initially planned $600 million, with the proceeds of the sale plus excess cash used to purchase 12,000 more BTC for nearly $822 million.

After that purchase, the firm’s cache stands at 205,000 Bitcoins (worth over $15 billion) — making it the largest corporate holder of the preeminent cryptocurrency. Saylor’s massive Bitcoin bet has borne fruits, with nearly $8 billion in unrealized profit on its investment.

MicroStrategy is now just 5,000 Bitcoins, shy of owning 1% of the top crypto’s maximum supply. Assuming Bitcoin continues hovering above $70K, the firm could purchase roughly 6,900 BTC with the proceeds of the latest debt offering.

If six-figure Bitcoin forecasts come true and the flagship crypto reaches $100,000 by mid-2025, MicroStrategy’s unrealized profit on its holdings will exceed $13.4 billion, or a 197% return on investment in the space of five years.

Saylor recently said investors should treat Bitcoin less like a currency and more like a “billion-dollar property in cyberspace” that has the potential to preserve capital for hundreds of years.

Notably, MicroStrategy is not the only crypto firm seeking to borrow money for its business after a parabolic Bitcoin bull run. Coinbase, America’s largest crypto exchange, on March 12 announced it would sell $1 billion worth of senior notes, maturing in April 2030, to qualified institutional investors. The proceeds will be used to repay existing debt and general corporate purposes.

DISCLAIMER: None Of The Information You Read On ZyCrypto Should Be Regarded As Investment Advice. Cryptocurrencies Are Highly Volatile, Conduct Your Own Research Before Making Any Investment Decisions.

The original article written by Brenda Ngari and posted on ZyCrypto.com.

Article reposted on Markethive by Jeffrey Sloe

** Loans, secure funding for business projects in the USA and around the world. Learn more about USA & International Financing at Commercial Funding International. **

Tim Moseley

El Salvador’s Bitcoin Investment Has Netted $85 Million In Profits Thanks To BTC Price Record Highs

By Brenda Ngari – March 12, 2024

Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele’s decision to purchase Bitcoin (BTC), the world’s oldest and largest cryptocurrency, has certainly paid off. BTC’s latest rally to new all-time highs has thrust the Central American nation’s BTC portfolio into the black by $85 million, data indicates.

BTC Profits Hit $85 Million

Bitcoin was first adopted as legal tender in El Salvador in 2021, and since then, the country’s stockpile has gone from crypto winter rags to record riches. Since President Nayib Bukele announced that his government would start buying 1 BTC per day, it has accumulated roughly 2,861 BTC — according to the NayibTracker website — acquired at an average cost of $42,600. At Bitcoin’s new all-time high of $72,710 on March 11, this was worth over $207 million. He spent over $122 million on the cryptocurrency, meaning he’s up over $85 million.

El Salvador’s embrace of the benchmark cryptocurrency has proved contentious both at home and abroad, with the passing of the historic “Bitcoin Law” welcomed by protests, while everyone from university professors to the World Bank and U.S. lawmakers slagging off Bukele’s “careless gamble.”

However, the pro-Bitcoin president, who in February was reelected in a landslide presidential election victory — has been unfazed by the criticism, forging ahead with the tiny Latin American nation’s plans for a Bitcoin City — a tax-free city powered by a volcano and financed by BTC-backed bonds.

Bukele indicated in a March 12 post that El Salvador is accruing even more BTC in the form of revenue from other avenues. This entails revenue from the “freedom visa” passport program, which converts Bitcoin to United States dollars for local businesses, BTC mining, and revenue from government services.

El Salvador announced the visa program in December, offering foreigners a passport and residency if they invest $1 million in Bitcoin or Tether’s USDT. Months before that, in October, the nation launched its first local BTC mining pool in collaboration with Volcano Energy and Luxor Technology.

Venture capitalist Tim Draper recently suggested that El Salvador will be able to fully pay off its IMF debt if Bitcoin hits $100,000 and thereafter become financially independent.

DISCLAIMER: None Of The Information You Read On ZyCrypto Should Be Regarded As Investment Advice. Cryptocurrencies Are Highly Volatile, Conduct Your Own Research Before Making Any Investment Decisions.

The original article written by Brenda Ngari and posted on ZyCrypto.com.

Article reposted on Markethive by Jeffrey Sloe

** Loans, secure funding for business projects in the USA and around the world. Learn more about USA & International Financing at Commercial Funding International. **

Tim Moseley

Bitcoin Breaks Past $71,000 For First Time Ever, Overtaking Silver’s Market Cap

By Brenda Ngari – March 11, 2024

Bitcoin has registered a significant milestone, eclipsing the market capitalization of silver as it topped $71,000 for the first time ever.

The world’s largest and oldest crypto has been on a steady uptrend since the landmark approval of the spot BTC exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the US. BTC jumped past the $70,000 threshold for the first time in history on March 8. The Bitcoin price hit a high above $70K then, followed by a swift correction to the mid-$68,000 zone. Days later, BTC has burst above $71K, logging a fresh all-time high.

Bitcoin Breaches $71,000

Bitcoin was trading for $71,733 at press time, a 2.9% jump over the last 24 hours. According to CoinGecko data, the alpha crypto has gained roughly 10.4% over the past week and 53.1% during the last month.

Following the new record high, Bitcoin has become the eighth-largest asset in the world after its market capitalization surpassed the $1.383 trillion market cap of silver, the second-biggest precious metal in the world.

Bitcoin boasts a market value of $1.409 trillion, trailing behind Microsoft, Apple, Nvidia, Saudi Aramco, Amazon, and Google parent company Alphabet. Gold has long held the top spot with its $14.685 trillion market cap.

The bullish BTC rally comes on the back of a very successful week for spot ETFs. As per data from BitMEX Research, these products witnessed more than $2.2 billion in inflows last week. As of last Friday, BlackRock’s IBIT spot ETF had amassed approximately $13.6 billion in assets under management.

Since their debut, the ETFs have absorbed 4.06% of the current Bitcoin supply, as observed by Dune. At this rate, ETFs are projected to suck up 8.65% of the BTC supply annually.

Another factor boosting the price of Bitcoin is the approaching halving event, in which the amount of BTC given as a reward to Bitcoin miners for processing new blocks on the network will be slashed in half. This April halving will see the reward lowered to 2.125 BTC from 6.25 BTC, subsequently reducing the amount of Bitcoin issued every day by circa 900 BTC, worth roughly $73 million.

Meanwhile, other major cryptos, including ether (ETH), have also seen substantial gains, with the second-largest jumping above the $4,000 milestone. Ether has some bullish news of its own as a catalyst this week. In just two days, the Dencun upgrade will go live. Dencun is expected to dramatically enhance network scalability and reduce transaction fees for Layer 2 blockchains.

DISCLAIMER

The views expressed in the article are wholly those of the author and do not represent those of, nor should they be attributed to, ZyCrypto. This article is not meant to give financial advice. Please carry out your own research before investing in any of the various cryptocurrencies available.

The original article written by Brenda Ngari and posted on ZyCrypto.com.

Article reposted on Markethive by Jeffrey Sloe

** Loans, secure funding for business projects in the USA and around the world. Learn more about USA & International Financing at Commercial Funding International. **

Tim Moseley