Bitcoin soars past $120,000 as analysts predict new all-time high by end of year
Friday’s price is a 97% jump from where bitcoin was a year ago.
Bitcoin is up over 10% this week, crossing $120,000 for the first time since its previous all-time high record of over $124,000 on August 14. This is a 97% jump from where bitcoin was a year ago, hovering around $60,700.
John Haar, managing director at Swan Bitcoin, told Sherwood News that bitcoin’s rise this week is due to a confluence of factors, including the government shutdown causing fiscal uncertainty, highlighting the value of assets like bitcoin and gold.
“Over the longer term, with global debt at record highs and fiat currencies under pressure, bitcoin is increasingly seen as a liquid, non-sovereign reserve asset. We’re watching a shift from speculative trades to strategic allocations, and we believe this will push price beyond prior highs,” Haar said.
Analysts are also optimistic about bitcoin’s trajectory.
JPMorgan analysts expect bitcoin to hit $165,000 by year-end, driven by the acceleration of “the debasement trade,” with retail investors rushing to buy both gold and bitcoin ETFs, they said in a note. The debasement trade refers to a slew of macroeconomic factors, including “elevated geopolitical and policy uncertainty,” “waning confidence in fiat currencies in certain emerging markets,” and “persistently high government deficits across major economies,” the analysts wrote.
Meanwhile, Citi analysts gave bitcoin a 12-month price target of $181,000 in a note this week that also gave bitcoin a year-end price target of $132,000.
Finally, Geoff Kendrick, global head of digital assets research at Standard Chartered, said the shutdown will be the primary driver of the impending all-time high.
“During the previous Trump shutdown (22 Dec 2018 to 25 Jan 2019) bitcoin was in a different place than now, so it did little. However, this year bitcoin has traded with ‘US government risks’ as best shown by its relationship to US treasury term premium,” he wrote in a note.
Bitcoin ETFs have amassed $2.25 billion in inflows since Monday. BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust alone saw $466.5 million in inflows on Thursday, according to SoSoValue data.
Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas wrote in a post on X that both IBIT and the SPDR Gold ETF were in the top 10 ETFs by volume Thursday, “which is rare, everyone wants in on The Debaser Trade I guess.”
In other bitcoin news:
MARA Holdings, the second-largest corporate bitcoin holder, increased its holdings to 52,850 bitcoin. In addition, it produced 736 bitcoin in September, a 4% month-over-month increase.
Riot Platforms announced its September production, with 445 bitcoin produced, compared to 477 in August, a 7% month-over-month decrease.
Cango also released its September production update. The bitcoin miner produced 616.6 bitcoin for the month, compared to 663.7 in August, a 7% month-over-month decrease.
