Peter Brandt, a highly respected and experienced trader, believes the bitcoin price could surge up to $14,000 in 2018. However, the majority of analysts in the cryptocurrency space see the price of bitcoin surging beyond $40,000.
Bitcoin Heading Towards $18,000
Over the past month, the price of bitcoin has increased from around $7,000 to $12,500, by nearly two-fold. The market valuation has surpassed the $200 billion mark, and is moving closer to $210 billion.
If the price of bitcoin had increased by more than $5,000 within a 30-day period without major events or developments, it would be fair to claim that the short-term surge in value is a bubble and a large price correction is due.
However, the price of bitcoin has increased to $12,500 within a month-long period because of the optimism around the entrance of institutional investors. Billionaire hedge fund investor Mike Novogratz noted that a herd of institutional investors are moving into the bitcoin market, while Brian Armstrong, the CEO at $1.6 billion bitcoin brokerage Coinbase, stated that $10 billion in institutional money is awaiting to be invested in bitcoin.
“Over 100 hedge funds have been created in the past year exclusively to trade digital currency. An even greater number of traditional institutional investors are starting to look at trading digital assets,” wrote Armstrong, emphasizing that a large portion of the traditional finance sector has already made a move into the cryptocurrency market.
Armstrong added, “by some estimates there is $10 billion of institutional money waiting on the sidelines to invest in digital currency today.”
Given the market’s enthusiasm towards the launch of bitcoin futures exchanges by CBOE and CME Group, two of the world’s largest options exchanges, Brandt stated that the price of bitcoin will either achieve $14,000, or experience a minor correction to $9,200 and head to $14,000.
But, Brandt also noted that the current price movement of bitcoin demonstrates a short-term bubble within the market, as newcomers have been investing in bitcoin for short-term profits, with the intent of selling it in the short-term.
“In my 43 years as a speculator, I have never seen anything like the current bull market in bitcoin. I believe bitcoin is in a bubble, but bubbles can go on for far longer than anyone thinks,” Brandt told MarketWatch.
While it is likely that some regions like South Korea is dealing with some sort of a bubble, the US and Japanese markets, which account for more than 60 percent of global bitcoin trades, have matured, evolved, and grown to a point in which price movements are well backed by the stable market.
Many Analysts See Way Past $18,000
Analysts and investors including Novogratz and John McAfee stated that the price of bitcoin will likely surpass well beyond $18,000 in 2018, as tens of billions in institutional money flow into the market.
“Legendary trader predicts Bitcoin at $14,000 by the end if 2018. Will the old guard ever get a clue? Bitcoin will surpass that by the end of January. The world has split in half. Make sure you are in the half that embraces the new paradigm,” said McAfee.