Key Insights
- The year is shaping up to be a bullish one for the crypto market, and Bitcoin especially.
- According to the charts, Bitcoin is back above the $100,000 price level and could be ready to continue further upwards.
- An increase in institutional adoption is expected to help Bitcoin achieve higher highs this year.
- Analysts from VanEck and CNBC expect a Bitcoin high between $150,000 and $250,000.
- Analyst Ali believes that the key support for Bitcoin sits around $97,000.
The year is already shaping up to be an amazing one for crypto, with Bitcoin at the forefront.
The cryptocurrency broke above the $100,000 mark for the first time in the previous year, and is now attempting to finalize this move as indicated by its current price action.
The question now is: What comes next?
Here’s what to expect from the flagship cryptocurrency going forward into the year, in terms of price and other developments.
How Last Year Set the Stage
The previous year saw many developments unfold for Bitcoin in terms of price and adoption.
All of these factors ultimately resulted in a final push from the $70,000 to $100,000 zone.
Some of the biggest factors during the year was movements from big players like BlackRock and BNY Mellon who integrated Bitcoin into their offerings.
The approval of the spot Bitcoin ETFs also added billions in liquidity to the market, making Bitcoin more accessible to more investors.
The introduction of these ETFs into the market also marked the SEC’s recognition of Bitcoin as a commodity, instead of a security.
Companies like MicroStrategy also expanded their Bitcoin holdings by billions of dollars.
And by the start of the new year, Bitcoin had already made a name for itself as a big player in modern finance.
Key Drivers of Bitcoin’s Price
So what are the factors controlling Bitcoin’s trajectory this year?
Some of these include the growing interest from institutional investors, and the expected change in SEC leadership for the year.
Notably, Institutional interest in Bitcoin skyrocketed over the previous year, and isn’t showing signs of a slowdown yet.
The Spot ETFs also opened the doors for large scale capital inflows. This inflow of billions of dollars played a huge role in slowing down Bitcoin’s volatility.
If this trend continues, Bitcoin will become more and more ingrained in institutional portfolios.
Bitcoin’s ecosystem is also not slowing down either. Layer 2 solutions like the Lightning Network have also been making waves, along with other technologies like Ark and Fedimints.
The new self-custody solutions like Silent Payments are also expected to make Bitcoin more accessible to more people.
In all, the year is shaping up to be an amazing one for the cryptocurrency.
Expert Predictions for The Year
Many experts have lent opinions on how Bitcoin could perform during the year.
However, most of these opinions remain similar and put a Bitcoin high anywhere between $150,000 and $300,000.
For example, CNBC analyst Tom Lee predicts a Bitcoin high of around $250,000.
Matthew Sigel from VanEck expects the cryptocurrency to hit more conservative targets like the $180,000 price mark.
Bitcoin megabulls like Cathie Wood and Michael Saylor even expect Bitcoin to hit $1 million within the next decade.
On the flipside, analysts have also warned of incoming Bitcoin corrections.
A good example is Peter L. Brandt, who expects a possible dip to $78,000. He also expects that Bitcoin will either recover from this slump, or go even further down.
Bitcoin, The Trump Inauguration And Beyond
Bitcoin rose by 4% over the last week and reclaimed the $100,000 mark after Wednesday’s CPI data release.
This CPI data came in within expectations on a yearly basis, despite core inflation coming in at slightly above expectations compared to November.
K33 Research has also highlighted a slowdown in Bitcoin selling, ahead of the Trump inauguration in a recent report.
“Selling BTC at the inauguration is [gradually] becoming less compelling every day as we inch closer to the inauguration.” The report says “During Trump’s first term as president, he referenced the stock market […] a factor we expect to re-emerge throughout his second term.”
According to insights from renowned analyst Ali in a recent tweet, the major support level for Bitcoin sits at around $97,000.
The analyst believes that if a break below this level doesn’t occur, then Bitcoin is unlikely to crash before or after the inauguration.
