Bitwise’s chief investment officer says bitcoin price could surge above $200K this year due to a “massive supply-demand dynamic,” emphasizing that “there’s too much demand and not enough supply” for the cryptocurrency. Predicting “an even bigger wave” of demand for bitcoin due to spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), he described: “It’s in a new era of price discovery and I think prices could go substantially higher from here.”
‘There’s an Even Bigger Wave Coming’
Bitwise Asset Management’s CIO, Matt Hougan, shared his bitcoin outlook in an interview with CNBC on Thursday. Bitwise’s bitcoin ETF (BITB) is among the 11 spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that were approved by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in early January.
“We’re seeing enormous demand for the Bitwise Bitcoin ETF and across all these ETFs,” he shared. “You’re seeing retail investors come into these ETFs, you’re seeing hedge funds, you’re seeing RIAs [registered investment advisors] or independent financial advisors.” The chief investment officer added:
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I think there’s an even bigger wave coming in a few months as we start to see the major wirehouses turn on. But this has been Bitcoin’s IPO moment. It’s in a new era of price discovery and I think prices could go substantially higher from here.
He elaborated: “When these ETFs first launched, they were not turned on at the major wirehouses, at the major institutions. So the initial demand out of the gate for any ETF … is primarily retail and independent financial advisors and hedge funds. So, I think that’s the primary driver, that’s what we’re seeing.”
Noting that funds are flowing into ETFs from both institutions and retail investors, the Bitwise CIO described: “It’s just new demand. If you think about bitcoin pre the ETFs, there was only a small set of investors who could buy it. Now, almost everyone can buy it.” He continued: “The supply-demand dynamic is just off the hook.”
2024 Bitcoin Price Prediction
Hougan explained that Bitwise said in its 2024 prediction, published in December last year, that “bitcoin would trade at new all-time highs above $80,000 a coin.” However, he admitted: “Based on what we’re seeing in our ETFs and these other ETFs, I think we have to revise that upward.” He opined:
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It could be $100,000. It could be $200,000. It could be higher than that. There’s simply this massive supply-demand dynamic going on.
He stressed that there is “net new demand and a fixed supply,” emphasizing that there is “actually a reduction in new supply coming up in April with the halvening.” The executive noted: “Sometimes, investing is complex. Sometimes, it’s easy. With bitcoin right now, it’s just about supply-demand and there’s too much demand and not enough supply.”
Recently, a $30 billion investment platform approved four spot bitcoin ETFs, including Bitwise’s bitcoin fund. Last week, reports emerged that Bank of America’s Merrill Lynch and Wells Fargo have also been offering spot bitcoin ETFs to some clients. Last week, Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley said the price of bitcoin could hit $250,000 sooner than most people would imagine.
Source: https://news.bitcoin.com/bitwise-cio-says-bitcoin-could-top-200k-this-year-citing-too-much-demand-not-enough-supply/