12-7-2023 (SINGAPORE) As the Asian trading session begins, bitcoin manages to hold the $30,000 mark, while ether remains stable. According to Coinglass data, there were slightly more long liquidations than short liquidations in the past 12 hours, with $7 million in longs and $6.73 million in shorts being liquidated.
Bybit’s lead financial engineer, Ether Chen, stated that the market is currently in a wait-and-see mode, anticipating signs of price growth following a potential slowdown or pause in rate hikes during the second half of the year. Chen believes that liquidity inflow will play a significant role in this scenario.
Chen also mentioned that Bybit’s team expects a potential market price recovery in the fourth quarter, but a full-fledged bull market may not materialize until 2024. This recovery would depend on factors such as the cessation of rate hikes, Bitcoin halving, and the resolution of regulatory issues.
Tim Frost, the CEO of digital wealth platform Yield App, points out the mixed messaging of slowing inflation figures combined with market confidence in the Federal Reserve’s rate hikes. Frost dismisses Standard Chartered’s recent report predicting that bitcoin will reach $120,000 by the end of next year.
Frost believes that the current situation will likely lead to continued range trading around the current price levels for crypto assets. He acknowledges that bitcoin has remained close to $30,000, which marks a nearly 100% increase from its starting price of $16,540 in January. Frost also highlights that few assets perform as well as bitcoin in a “bear” market, and experienced traders have likely benefited from its performance this year.
Regardless of whether Standard Chartered’s price prediction proves accurate, Frost foresees a bull market on the horizon for 2024. He emphasizes that the long-range consensus suggests that crypto will enter its next bull market after a period of consolidation in 2022. Frost concludes by noting the significant innovation happening behind closed doors, paving the way for the next wave of crypto adoption.
