Bitcoin to soar as ETFs on cusp of approval
The price of Bitcoin is spiking and one analyst predicts it could more than triple in value and hit $300,000 by the end of 2025.
Bitcoin has risen above $US47,000 (A$70,000) for the first time since April 2022 and one analyst is predicting it could more than triple in value to be worth US$200,000 (A$298,000) by the end of 2025.
The prediction comes after news that US regulators appear ready to finally approve Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
In a note, Standard Chartered head of crypto research Geoff Kendrick wrote: “If ETF-related inflows materialise as we expect, we think an end-2025 level closer to US$200,000 is possible.”
It has been over a decade since the first applications for ETFs that invest directly in the digital currency were filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Prospective ETF issuers BlackRock, Fidelity, Invesco, Ark, Galaxy Digital and WisdomTree filed amended forms on Monday in what is seen by analysts as a final push to offer the investment products.
The regulator has until Wednesday to make a decision on the applications, which could result in an investment product tracking the daily price of the most popular digital currency traded on a stock market for the first time.
If approved, the advent of Bitcoin ETFs is expected to drive up Bitcoin’s price due to increased accessibility and liquidity of the digital currency.
The rise in Bitcoin also flowed through to a surge in the price of other cryptocurrencies, such as Ethereum, Cardano, SOL and Polkadot, while the share prices of listed crypto exchanges and miners such as Coinbase Global, Riot Platforms and Marathon Digital also rose.
Bitcoin’s previous all-time high of almost $US69,000 (A$103,000) was reached in November 2021.