- Bitcoin has clocked a new yearly high above $56,000, a first since December 2021.
- Bernstein says professional investors will drive further rallies for the next 18 months.
A rally in Bitcoin pushed the asset to a 2024 high.
The world’s largest cryptocurrency is up more than 10% to $56,449 in the last 24 hours — its highest price since December 2021, TradingView data shows.
Buoyed by record inflows in exchange-traded funds and the so-called halving event in April, the asset has lured both retail and institutional investors.
The latter will drive further rallies, says research firm Bernstein.
“Bitcoin is on an 18-month path to $150,000, led by unprecedented institutional adoption,” Bernstein analysts led by Gautam Chhugani said in a note to clients on Tuesday.
Some have predicted Bitcoin could rise to as much as $500,000 over the next five years, with others estimating that Bitcoin will reach $170,000 by 2025.
Sophisticated investors at finance firms have piled into Bitcoin derivatives.
Open interest for Bitcoin futures contracts reached about $22 billion — unseen since the end of the bull market in November 2021, DL News reported.
Meanwhile, in options markets, traders holding long Bitcoin positions are willing to pay a premium to maintain those trades.
Those traders have sent funding rates for so-called USD-margined perpetual options to their highest point in over a month. That suggests optimism about the future price.
Bernstein’s Chhugani noted that Bitcoin’s price is less than 20% below its record $68,992, reached in November 2021.
Crypto market movers
- Bitcoin is up 11% in the last 24 hours and trading for $56,449.
- Ethereum is up about 6.6% in the same period, reaching about $3,260.
What we’re reading
- Bitcoin traders flash $22bn sign that its price will go higher — DL News
- Ethereum Outpaces Bitcoin In 2024 With 33% Gain: Report — Milk Road
- Yuga Labs to End Support for NFT Marketplaces That Don’t Respect Royalties — Unchained
- Crypto Funds Witness $598,000,000 Inflows; Bitcoin Dominates — Milk Road
- DeFi trader rides EigenLayer airdrop hype to secure 40% yield — DL News
Sebastian Sinclair is a markets correspondent for DL News. Have a tip? Contact Seb at sebastian@dlnews.com.
