2023 has been a year of great turnaround for bitcoin and analysts are wondering why.
Bitcoin Has Seen a Lot of Change This Year
For one thing, it appears macroeconomic conditions have loosened up somewhat. While many financial experts still see an economic downturn happening towards the end of the year, talks of a recession of somewhat subsided. Still, things are shaky enough (with bank failures and what not) that people have looked to bitcoin and similar assets as “safe havens” through which they can funnel their money and keep their investments safe.
Crypto expert Brandon Zemp explained also that while some regulatory issues have arisen in the U.S., the markets around the world have eased up when it comes to crypto, thus helping the industry grow at least from an international perspective. He stated:
I think most of the prior price action bitcoin has had in the past has come largely from the United States, and for the first time, I think you’re seeing a lot of that price action start to happen outside of the United States.
In addition, there’s also been a lot of interest stemming from Wall Street players such as BlackRock, which recently filed a bitcoin ETF application with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). While the company had its application initially turned away for not being comprehensive enough, the firm is now looking to revamp the application and resubmit it to the financial agency for a new opinion.
Konstantin Shulga – CEO and co-founder of Finery Markets – said this has to do with the public still showing massive interest in BTC even though it bombed hard last year. Shulga said:
The world of cryptocurrency has been facing a lot of uncertainty in the U.S. market due to regulatory issues. However, despite these challenges, institutions have still been showing interest in it as an asset class. It seems that the adoption of cryptocurrency is slowly but surely taking place.
Still, Shulga thinks that the regulatory scene in the U.S. is going to be quite stringent, and thus it may take at least a few attempts from BlackRock and similar companies to get the attention of the SEC. Shulga said:
Despite numerous attempts, not a single application for a spot [exchange-traded fund] has received the green light from the SEC so far. The biggest question now is whether BlackRock’s filing will meet a different fate than previous proposals from companies like Fidelity or CBOE Global Markets, which were met with rejection(s).
More Growth Coming?
Zemp anticipates bitcoin will continue to grow through the rest of the year, stating:
I think what will end up happening for bitcoin is we’ll see this continue to rise. Bitcoin could go to $35,000, $40,000, [or] $45,000 potentially. It will get closer and closer to its previous all-time high.
