Since breaking above the $70,000 threshold earlier this year, Bitcoin price remained largely range-bound in the following months.
The world’s largest cryptocurrency’s volatile performance has mainly been driven by mixed economic data, unexpected developments related to the upcoming presidential election, and several more crypto-focused factors, such as repayments to creditors of Mt. Gox, a defunct cryptocurrency exchange.
Bitcoin price saw a sharp pullback in early August after a surprisingly soft July jobs report triggered recession fears, denting investor sentiment toward risk assets. Equities also fell notably at the time.
The downturn marked a substantial shift for the crypto sector, which had recently been buoyed by optimism surrounding the approval of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) linked to the spot prices of bitcoin and ETH/USD.
Sentiment had also been boosted by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s pro-crypto speech at a bitcoin conference last month.
Bitcoin fell to its lowest level in almost six months, while Ether plummeted to its lowest point since January.
Although its price recovered notably, the premier cryptocurrency struggled to make significant upward moves since the pullback. The sharp drop pushed Bitcoin price below the crucial support level marked by the 50-day simple moving average (SMA). Although there have been multiple efforts to regain this level, none have succeeded in triggering a sustained upward trend.
On August 15, Bitcoin managed to climb back to the $59,000 mark, driven by expectations of the first interest rate cuts by the U.S. Federal Reserve in September. Lower rates are favorable for crypto and other risk assets because they lower the cost of borrowing, encourage investment, and typically weaken the dollar, which can drive investors to seek higher returns in alternative assets like cryptocurrencies.
However, despite repeated attempts to push the price above $60,000, strong resistance has consistently halted further gains.
In light of recent developments, here is what crypto experts have to say regarding the BTC price forecast.
“We can expect innovative wrapped versions of Bitcoin, like sBTC, cbBTC, and zBTC, to play a significant role in bringing Bitcoin into the next phase of its evolution. This could very well be the trigger that prompts holders to increase their BTC positions for yield generation, especially on high-performance chains like Solana,” said Justin Wang, founder and CEO of Zeus Network.
”As we approach the end of 2024, Bitcoin is likely to experience range-bound price action, influenced by these macroeconomic and regulatory developments. While a new all-time high above $73,000 could be possible, this would depend on a series of positively perceived events, such as progress toward the Fed’s 2% inflation target, renewed investor interest, and favorable stablecoin legislation,” commented Kristian Haralampiev, Structured Products Lead, Nexo.
Lastly, Stefan Godly from fundraising platform Trailblaze told Investing.com, “The bitcoin price follows fundamentals more than anything else and those tell us the price is going to rise continuously. The volatility on top of the fundamental growth in value is mainly noise and thus distracting retailers and private investors in order to shake them out into losses.”
“Despite FUD in the media – It doesn’t matter whether the ETF elections or any other FOMO theory which will come up; all this is only storytelling to keep the mind busy. The real value is in the long-term position of this unique asset as a hedge and store of value.”
Source: Cryptocurrency - investing.com
