Record High Bitcoin‥Will It Reach $100,000?

Bitcoin Futures ETF Listing Spurs Rising Momentum
Also Drives Gains in New York Stock Market

[Asia Economy New York=Special Correspondent Baek Jong-min] The cryptocurrency Bitcoin surpassed $66,000, setting an all-time high record. There is also a growing forecast that the Bitcoin price will soar to $100,000.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

According to CoinMarketCap, on the 20th (local time), Bitcoin rose more than 3% compared to the previous day at one point, reaching $66,930. Bitcoin quickly broke through the $65,000 mark recorded in April and appears to have the $67,000 level within reach.

Bitcoin had been stagnant since April but surged 50% since the end of September. The sharp rise in Bitcoin is largely attributed to expectations that the U.S.’s first Bitcoin futures exchange-traded fund (ETF), the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO), has successfully settled in the market.

The cryptocurrency specialized media Decrypt analyzed that many experts predicted Bitcoin’s price would fall immediately after the Bitcoin futures ETF listing, saying the investment adage “buy the rumor, sell the news” did not hold true this time.

BITO has attracted investors’ attention from its first day of listing, setting the largest trading record in ETF history. The fact that investors can invest in Bitcoin with just a stock trading account has led to massive ETF trading, which in turn has driven up Bitcoin’s price.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) also approved the Bitcoin futures ETF applied for by VanEck. This futures ETF is scheduled to begin trading on the 25th.

Billionaire investor Paul Tudor Jones appeared on CNBC that morning and said, “Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies will be a great hedge,” expressing a preference for cryptocurrencies over gold as a hedge against inflation. This was also interpreted as a factor driving the day’s upward trend.

While individual trading surged in ETFs, institutional investors are increasingly entering Bitcoin. Research firm Arcane Research reported that institutional investors are resuming Bitcoin purchases. Bendik Norheim Shay, head of Arcane Research, said, “With growing expectations for Bitcoin futures ETFs, institutional investors are also showing interest in Bitcoin.”

Expectations for further gains are also rising. Cryptocurrency media Coindesk reported that Ben Caselin of analytics firm AAX forecasted Bitcoin’s price to rise to $100,000, and other experts are also hastily raising their target prices.

The rise in Bitcoin has stimulated risk asset preference sentiment and lifted the New York stock market. On the day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 0.43%, and the S&P 500 index rose 0.37%. Although the Nasdaq index fell 0.05%, the Dow and S&P 500 approached all-time highs.

Thomas Lee, a Bitcoin bull and partner at Fundstrat, diagnosed, “The Bitcoin rally is a sign that the risk asset investment environment has recovered.” Lee forecasted that Bitcoin could rise to $160,000.