If it is up to the Standard Chartered research group, the year 2023 will be a true nightmare for Bitcoin. In a new note to its investors, the investment bank outlines a jet-black scenario for Bitcoin in which the price drops to $5,000 next year.
Switch to physical gold
Not much later in the document, Standard Chartered explains what this forecast is based on. The banking giant expects a real flight to physical gold. For years, gold has been neglected in investment portfolios. After the run on US dollars in 2022, Standard Chartered expects a flight to hard assets and physical gold in particular for 2023.
Standard Chartered chief strategist Eric Robertsen foresees few hopeful developments for Bitcoin in 2023. According to the renowned analyst, there is a chance that more large parties in the industry will go bankrupt and that sentiment in the market will cool down further.
From the current price of $17,300, Robertson expects a 70 percent drop for Bitcoin. For physical gold, the analyst predicts a price of $ 2,250, which means an increase of 30 percent compared to the current price. If it is up to Standard Chartered, the Bitcoin industry should therefore prepare for another difficult year.
Forced sales are over
Standard Chartered is now convinced that the forced sales of Bitcoin are now over. It refers to sales that people are forced to make, because otherwise they will be pushed out of their positions. “But investors are not sufficiently compensated at current prices for the risks that are still in the market,” the investment bank writes in the note.
By this, Standard Chartered refers to possible new problems with centralized players that may come as a surprise. You should think of parties of the caliber of Binance that suddenly turn out to be illiquid. That would possibly result in even greater drama than the fall of FTX.
It is clear that uncertainty is currently reigning in the crypto world. In any case, we have to agree with Standard Chartered. However, a Bitcoin price of $ 5,000 seems very unlikely at the moment. After all, Bitcoin still has to go through a significant decline for that.
There is also optimism
Incidentally, the news at the moment is not all negative when it comes to Bitcoin. There are plenty of influential figures who still see a bright future for Bitcoin. What about the billionaire and venture capitalist Tim Draper, who predicts a Bitcoin price of $ 250,000 next year? Draper believes that the fall of FTX will ultimately only have positive effects on the industry.
The implosion of FTX is showing people what Bitcoin is really all about: decentralization. He expects more people to opt for their own wallets and leave centralized platforms for what it is. That would at least make the industry a lot more resilient.
Draper is not the only one with positive feelings about Bitcoin’s future. Analyst Henrik Zeberg also predicted a Bitcoin price of $ 100,000 at the end of November. Furthermore, hedge fund manager Mark Yusko sees 2023 as the potential start for another Bitcoin bull run. So there are still plenty of people who believe in the absolute scarcity of Satoshi Nakamoto’s creation.
