YEREVAN (CoinChapter.com) – The BlackRock iShares Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) quickly gathered more Bitcoin (BTC) than MicroStrategy has, even though it has been around for less than two months. By last Friday, IBIT had 195,985 BTC after getting many of them daily. MicroStrategy, on the other hand, said they had 193,000 BTC on Feb. 26.
Since starting on Jan. 11, the IBIT ETF has been getting hundreds of millions of dollars worth of Bitcoin almost daily. This makes it the biggest new spot ETF product, except for the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, which changed from a closed-end fund.
MicroStrategy Banks Big on Bitcoin, Boosts Its Stocks
MicroStrategy might have bought more Bitcoin after it announced a plan to raise $700 million earlier this week. The company wants to use this money to add to its Bitcoin collection. MicroStrategy is really focusing on Bitcoin now. It shared a plan to get over $600 million by selling debt, aiming to increase its Bitcoin stash.
This focus on Bitcoin has made MicroStrategy’s stock act like a powerful version of a Bitcoin ETF, and this strategy is paying off. The stock’s value has shot up by 642% in the last year, way more than Bitcoin’s 244% increase in the same timeframe.
Michael Saylor, the CEO of MicroStrategy, says he won’t sell their Bitcoin. “I’m going to keep buying more. Bitcoin is our way out,” he said in a Bloomberg interview on Feb. 20.
Saylor thinks Bitcoin is better than gold, the S&P 500, and real estate, even though those assets are currently worth much more than Bitcoin. He said, “Bitcoin is better than those assets. So, there’s no good reason to sell something that’s winning to buy something that’s not.”
Bitcoin ETF Boosts Holding Battle
Next up for IBIT to catch up with is Grayscale’s GBTC, which has seen a reduction of over 200,000 BTC since the new spot ETFs launched. Despite this, it still has about 400,000 BTC.
Grayscale’s GBTC and the new Bitcoin ETFs together have $28 billion worth of assets, thanks to ongoing interest from big investors pushing Bitcoin’s value up. On March 8, the price of Bitcoin went over $70,000 for the first time.
The huge interest in these new spot ETFs is a big reason why Bitcoin’s price has jumped more than 60% this year. For the first time, Bitcoin’s price went past $70,000 on Friday morning, hitting a new record high of $70,136, based on CoinDesk Indices data. At the time of this update, Bitcoin’s price was just below $70,000.
From $45K to $1.5M: Predict Bitcoin Experts
Several finance and cryptocurrency experts have shared their predictions for Bitcoin’s price in the coming years, highlighting the influence of market trends, global economic factors, and Bitcoin’s unique supply dynamics on its potential valuation.
- Cathie Wood from ARK Invest thinks Bitcoin’s price could reach $650,000 by 2024 and even $1.5 million by 2030. She believes a Bitcoin ETF could help its price.
- Mike Novogratz from Galaxy Digital once thought Bitcoin would hit $500,000 by 2024. Now, he’s saying it might take longer because of the high-interest rates set by the Federal Reserve.
- Tim Draper, a big investor, first said Bitcoin would be worth $250,000 by mid-2023. Now, he thinks it might reach that price by 2025, blaming tough actions by the U.S. government.
- Max Keiser believes Bitcoin could reach $220,000. He’s known for making bold predictions and supported Bitcoin early on when it was just $1.
- Fundstrat, a research firm, predicts that Bitcoin could soar to $180,000 by its 2024 halving, thinking a Bitcoin ETF and past halving events could push the price.
- Standard Chartered, an investment bank, has raised its forecast to $120,000 by the end of 2024, more optimistic than before.
- Robert Kiyosaki, the author of “Rich Dad, Poor Dad,” thinks Bitcoin could hit $120,000 by 2024 because he expects the U.S. dollar to go down in value.
- Adam Back, a key figure in the Bitcoin world, says Bitcoin might be worth $100,000 by early 2024. He points to the role of Bitcoin miners and the coming halving event.
- Jesse Myers from OnRamp Capital thinks Bitcoin will only pass $100,000 after the 2024 halving. He believes the market will need time to adjust.
- Arthur Hayes from BitMEX sees Bitcoin reaching $70,000 by 2024 and a long-term possibility of $750,000 to $1 million. He discusses Bitcoin’s limited supply and the role of spot ETFs.
- Berenberg, another bank, predicts $56,630 for Bitcoin by April 2024, thinking the 2024 halving will make a big difference.
- JP Morgan suggests Bitcoin could be worth $45,000 in 2024, a bit more than its price when they made the prediction. They think investors will view Bitcoin as similar to gold, especially with the halving event coming up.
These experts look at new investment products (ETFs), government actions, Bitcoin’s limited amount, and how often it gets used to make their predictions. Each has their own view, but they all think Bitcoin’s price will go up in the next few years.
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