In a wide-ranging interview with CNBC titled Squawk Box, the head of research at Fundstrat, Tom Lee, projected that approving the pending Bitcoin spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) application will trigger the Bitcoin prices to garner bullish momentum. The analyst anticipates that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will soon approve the slew of spot ETF applications.
Bitcoin Prices to Soar
Lee claimed that if the SEC greenlights the spot ETFs, the Bitcoin price will break the $150,000 resistance level by the end of this year. In his August 16 analysis, Lee envisioned that the approval of the Bitcoin ETFs would shift the Bitcoin supply and demand curve in a more promising direction.
During the interview, one of the hosts demanded to know the exact price of Bitcoin at the end of 2024. Commenting on this, Fundstrat analysts argued that the approval of the spot ETF will fuel the Bitcoin prices to soar to around $150000 to $180000.
The executive anticipates that the SEC will replicate the European regulatory action to accept Bitcoin ETFs in the US. In a recent study, the leading ETF analyst at Bloomberg, Eric Balchunas, observed that the US holds approximately 99.7% of the global crypto ETF trading volume.
Balchunas confirmed that if the SEC could approve the spot ETF, the estimated trading volume could reach 99.5%.
Even though the SEC might delay approving the spot ETFs, the analyst remains optimistic that Bitcoin prices will gradually increase. Referring to the impending Bitcoin halving that will take place in April 2024, Balchunas believes that Bitcoin prices will surge.
Impact of 2024 Bitcoin Halving
The analyst forecast that during the Bitcoin halving, the demand will be high than the supply. It implies that the increase in demand will trigger the Bitcoin price to raise. However, Balchunas anticipates that Bitcoin prices will fail to reach the six-figure in the coming months.
Occasionally the SEC takes around 240 days to review the Bitcoin ETF application before announcing the final decision. A few months ago, the SEC rejected the Bitcoin ETF application submitted by BlackRock.
The SEC argued that the approval of the spot ETFs could lead to market manipulation and fraud. This obliged the market regulators to review the spot ETF applications thoroughly.
Before then, the SEC rejected the Bitcoin ETF filing submitted by fast-growing asset managers such as Fidelity, Wisdom Tree, and Invesco had submitted spot ETFs.
The SEC decision has compelled asset management firms to revise and resubmit the Bitcoin ETFs documents. Notably, the growing interest in providing Bitcoin ETF to retail and institutional clients has challenged asset management firms to seek to meet SEC requirements.
Will Bitcoin Prices Surge?
In a recent analysis, Balchunas and his colleague James Seyfart estimated the SEC’s high probability of approving the spot ETFs. The two analysts argued there is a 65% probability for the SEC to approve the ETFs.
Balchunas’ analysis mirrors a recent report on Bitcoin price movement issued by Adam Rock, the chief executive of Blockstream. The CEO announced that the Bitcoin prices would reach $100000 in March 2024, a month before the expected Bitcoin halving.
In a report dated August 15, the cofounder of Onramp, a famous Bitcoin investment company Jesse Myer announced that the market would react to the Bitcoin halving after 12 to 18 months. He claimed that Bitcoin would fail to reach the $100000 mark before the expected halving.
