Media365
As the cryptocurrency market faces mounting pressure, Standard Chartered on Thursday cut its forecast for bitcoin, flagging a further drop to US$50,000 before the world’s largest cryptocurrency stabilises.
The digital currency was trading at around US$66,300 at 1pm Hong Kong time on Friday, a decline of nearly 50 per cent from a historical high of US$126,000 in October. Ether slid slightly to US$1,940 at 1pm on Friday. The world’s second-largest digital token has lost 60 per cent of its value from a peak of US$4,900 in August.
The current downbeat sentiment contrasts with the momentum late last year, fuelled in part by expectations of a more crypto-friendly stance from the Trump administration.
Geoffrey Kendrick, Standard Chartered’s global head of digital assets research, said that bitcoin could fall to as low as US$50,000 in the current downcycle before rebounding, while Ether could bottom out at around US$1,400.
“We expect further price capitulation in the next few months,” Kendrick said. “Once those lows have been reached, we expect a price recovery for the rest of the year.”
