Extraordinarily, Bitcoin surpassed $64,000 on Thursday, marking a major milestone not witnessed in more than two years. BTC's resurgence comes amid a strong rally ahead of the Bitcoin halving event, which has seen its value rise nearly 30% so far in 2024 and is scheduled for April.
The rise in Bitcoin's value is attributed to several factors, including increased demand for spot Bitcoin ETFs and significant investments from companies like MicroStrategy. MicroStrategy, in particular, made a splash by purchasing over $155 million worth of Bitcoin in recent weeks and contributed to the upward trend of BTC.
Discussing the implications of Bitcoin's rise, Benchmark Managing Director and Senior Research Analyst Mark Palmer shared his views on the long-term forecast for Bitcoin and its impact on institutions like MicroStrategy.
Palmer said supply and demand dynamics are important in driving Bitcoin's price action. He emphasized that the increase in demand following the launch of nine spot Bitcoin ETFs in January indicates a strong market appetite for BTC. Palmer also noted that the Bitcoin halving event, which has historically triggered significant rallies in Bitcoin's value by blocking new supply, is approaching.
Halving, a mechanism built into Bitcoin's protocol, reduces the rewards paid to Bitcoin miners by half approximately every four years. Palmer noted that this reduction in new supply has historically led to significant price increases both before and after the halving event, pointing to the critical role Bitcoin plays in controlling the inflation rate and positioning it as an alternative to traditional currencies such as the US dollar.
Palmer explained that their basic scenario is that the BTC price is at $125,000 by the end of 2025.
Palmer argued that MicroStrategy offers institutional investors a unique opportunity to access Bitcoin through a leveraged and actively managed approach, unlike traditional spot Bitcoin ETFs.
*This is not investment advice.
