(Kitco News) – Bitcoin (BTC) reclaimed support at $64,000 over the weekend but is struggling to hold the support level in early trading on Monday as the broader market shows signs of recovery from last week’s sub-$60,000 pullback for BTC.
It has been a volatile start to the week, with data provided by TradingView showing that BTC spiked to a high of $65,545 in the early morning hours, but has since pulled back to support at $63,000 after news circulated that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sent a Wells Notice to the crypto division of Robinhood for alleged securities violations.
BTC/USD Chart by TradingView
At the time of writing, BTC trades at $63,115, a decrease of 1.5% on the 24-hour chart.
While crypto-naysayers predicted that last week’s pullback was the beginning of the end of this bull market, analysts at Bernstein told clients in a note on Monday that the leading crypto “is far from done,” reiterating their prediction that BTC will reach $150,000 before the end of 2025.
"We feel even better about that call and metrics indicate a healthy cycle, still in its early stages," analysts Gautam Chhugani and Mahika Sapra said. “Risk-reward here remains attractive.”
They said the correction that saw Bitcoin hit a low near $56,525 was positive for the market as it “cleaned up the excess leverage on futures contracts on crypto exchanges.”
The analysts also highlighted that the U.S.-listed spot BTC exchange-traded funds (ETFs) saw renewed inflows on Friday following eight consecutive days of outflows. Notably, Grayscale’s GBTC recorded $63 million in net inflows on Friday after a 78-day streak of outflows, which the analysts called “significant considering GBTC has been a source of significant and continued selling, which the new 9 ETFs have had to absorb.”
Other positive factors cited by the Bernstein analysts include strong overall inflows into ETFs over the past three months, rising interest from corporate treasuries to buy Bitcoin, a steady post-halving hash rate, healthy post-halving transaction fees, and subdued prices for Bitcoin mining equipment.
Mike Martin, head of content for tastycrypto, also saw last week’s pullback as a healthy development for the market, and he expects that Bitcoin “will stabilize around the $60,000 mark in the near term, and price stability will persist over the next few months, influenced by ongoing inflation concerns and monetary policy uncertainties.”
“Looking towards the end of the year, it is entirely possible for Bitcoin to reach $80,000,” Martin said in a note to Kitco Crypto. “However, this projection hangs on several factors becoming more favorable, including clearer signals on monetary policies and potentially lower interest rates, which could reignite investment interest in risk-on assets like Bitcoin.”
He added that clarity regarding interest rate cuts “will be key to reigniting Bitcoin’s bull market. Such a move would likely improve the broader market sentiment, encouraging investment in cryptocurrencies as an alternative to traditional investments that might offer lower returns in a lower interest rate environment, particularly with the dwindling value of the US Dollar.”
Vijay Marolia, co-founder at The Cash Square, also thinks “the bottom might already be in,” and “expects the bull market in Bitcoin to continue this year.”
“Although technically, it wouldn't surprise me (in the short term) if the price pulled down to the $50K level – I think the bottom might already be in, so I expect the bull market in Bitcoin to continue this year,” he told Kitco Crypto. “Because Bitcoin's price is inversely related to the confidence in global fiat currencies, the ultimate price can go as high as the level of assets on the balance sheets of the world's central banks.”
As for the catalysts that will reignite bull market momentum, Marolia pointed to “more easing by the Federal Reserve (or other major central banks); any additional increases in government spending (which will either be taxed or inflated); and any spikes in the 10YR Treasury and/or downgrades in America's credit rating.”
And Emmanuel Quezada, CEO of U-topia, said, “While it’s challenging to predict market tops or bottoms with precision, it can be asserted that current discounted prices present a significant opportunity for a new ATH to be achieved in 2024.”
“The likelihood of Bitcoin reaching $100,000 in the next quarter is high, considering the prevailing market trends and the influence of institutional order flow on market capitalizations,” Quezada said. “Market corrections frequently stem from uncertainty. Therefore, regulatory clarity within the market framework serves as a crucial driver for directing liquidity in a favorable direction.”