Bitcoin could reach US$100 000 by the end of 2024, Standard Chartered said on Monday, saying that the so-called “crypto winter” is over.

Bitcoin could gain from factors including recent turmoil in the banking sector, a stabilisation of risk assets as the US Federal Reserve ends its rate-hiking cycle, and improved profitability of crypto mining, Standard Chartered’s head of digital assets research Geoff Kendrick said in a note.

“While sources of uncertainty remain, we think the pathway to the $100 000 level is becoming clearer,” Kendrick wrote.

Bitcoin has rallied so far this year, rising above $30 000 in April for the first time in 10 months. It gains represent a partial recovery after trillions of dollars were wiped from the crypto sector in 2022, as central banks hiked interest rates and a string of crypto firms imploded.

Predictions of sky-high valuations have been commonplace during bitcoin’s past rallies. A Citi analyst said in November 2020 that bitcoin could climb as high as $318 000 by the end of 2022. It closed last year down about 65% at $16 500. — Elizabeth Howcroft, (c) 2023 Reuters