The year 2022 has been very tough for all the cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin and Ethereum and also for crypto enthusiasts. The largest cryptocurrency in the world, BTC has lost approximately 65% of its market value in the entire last year. Crypto enthusiasts were caught off guard by a series of unpredictable events such as the Terra Luna crash, FTX fall, macroeconomic conditions and Binance guilty plea.

The start of this year 2023 was strong for the cryptocurrencies as the crypto world was showing signs of recovery. Bitcoin even rose an average of 0.39 in the month of July at around $31,000. The crypto world is showing immense recovery as of Oct., Nov. and Dec. has BTC rising at good levels. As of Nov. 05, 2023, BTC is at $41,772, market capitalization at $817.02. billion and market volume at $37.35 billion. Bitcoin rises high as expected. 

Will Bitcoin Recover Again? 

Post the psychological threshold of the $31,000 mark, Bitcoin has yet again started showing a bearish trend and trading below $30K levels. The world’s largest cryptocurrency, BTC, which was on the path of recovery had added on up to the monthly benefit of almost 15%, according to the latest charts retrieved by CoinMarketCap and is now trading at its highest level since May 2022 at $41,754.

BTC seems under slim pressure as inflation continues to be a crucial issue in emerging economies such as the U.S. and the UK, and as anticipated the U.S. Federal Reserve hiked the interest rates with a 25-basis point to tackle inflation issues. As per experts, the major resistance is seen near the $29,800 level and the next major resistance is at the $30,400 level. 

This is not the first time that BTC is under pressure. Bitcoin had seen a major fall that pushed the cryptocurrency below the $26,000 level, a three-month low, when the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sued one of the leading cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, Binance and its founder and chief executive officer, Changpeng Zhao (CZ).  

The SEC blamed crypto exchange Binance for creating separate entities as Binance.com and Binance US, as segments of an elaborate scheme to evade U.S. federal securities laws. It has also alleged that a firm owned by its founder CZ, had been involved in artificially growing the trading volume of crypto assets, listed on its Binance U.S. platform. 

Cryptocurrency experts believe that if BTC sticks to its level of $30,000, then it could bounce back likely from here and now is leading at $41,737 as of Dec. 05, 2023.

In April 2023, the top cryptocurrency Bitcoin touched the key resistance of $30,000 level, for the first time since June 10, 2022 and then started dipping below till $26,000 level and now has supremely raised at $41,737 after May 2022. Crypto experts believe Bitcoin must stick to the $31,000 level and more to touch the level of $60,000 by the end of the year 2023. 

However, the recovery path is lengthy, as BTC is still down almost 40%, from its all-time high. At the start of the year, Bitcoin plunged below the level of $20,000. But due factors such as the deepening banking crisis in the U.S., the weakening of the dollar index and cooling inflation have been able to bring back Bitcoin and other digital currencies to lead the path of resistance. So, it is not wrong to say that the recent U.S. financial crisis has increased the appetite for cryptocurrencies.

While the future of Bitcoin is unknown, retail investors are required to be very cautious about each and every move of Bitcoin, as it has been a tumultuous year for Bitcoin. Bitcoiners should not forget the fact that the currency is still trading low at almost 40% from it’s all-time high. The reason behind this volatility can be attributed to the macroeconomic conditions in countries including the U.S. and the UK. 

Moreover, India’s stance on cryptocurrencies continues to be firm with the government bringing all crypto-related transactions under the ambit of the Money Laundering Act. In a specific gazette notification, the Union Finance Ministry of India stated that all the transactions related to digital assets or virtual currency would fall under the purview of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). 

On the face of it, the new development may appear damaging to the cryptocurrency community in India. On the ground, the move has been praised by the industry at large as this is a step towards regulating this space, where in the absence of regulators, the enforcement agencies will straight up take recourse to any discrepancies.

One of the other reasons why crypto experts are hopeful about Bitcoin is that, in the coming year 2024, will be a year for Bitcoin’s halving event. The Bitcoin halving event happens every four years in which BTC rewards to its miners are cut by 50%, (the miner’s payout will be reduced to 3.125 BTC). This event is usually viewed as positive for Bitcoin’s price, as it helps in contracting supply. Historically, halving has been seen as a great sign for bringing momentum to Bitcoin’s price.

Bitcoin Halving History

In the above table, we can see that past Bitcoin halving events have been able to establish long-term bullish drivers for Bitcoin’s price. The Bitcoin halving event relates to its deflationary tendency and crushing its supply, which helps the Bitcoin price to rise further. As BTC, being a decentralized cryptocurrency, can’t be printed by any central banks or governments and thus Bitcoin’s total supply is limited. 

Moreover, “Bitcoin Whales”, large investors have started accumulating Bitcoin once again. According to data from on-chain aggregator Santiment, the large Bitcoin whales are holding a range from 1,000-10,000 BTC in their wallets, showcasing that investors have been filling up their wallets with a lot of Bitcoins, which might reflect recovery signs in the price of Bitcoin.

We all are aware that Bitcoin has rallied 80% plus more since the start of this year. With massive and unanticipated gains, it has surely surpassed several other major assets and set huge returns for those who have bought Bitcoin at dips.

The crypto industry is excited to witness the new peak of BTC and hoping for more. Marshall Beard, chief strategy officer at crypto exchange Gemini, believes Bitcoin to break its all-time highs this year. He even  said, “$100,000 price figure is an “interesting number if bitcoin gets to its previous record high of near $69,000”.

If Bitcoin really happens to touch this magical figure, then it has to showcase an upside of 270% to reach at $1 lakh level.

Paolo Ardoino, chief technology officer at Tether also has a positive view on Bitcoin. He said BTC could “retest” it’s all-time high of around $69,000.

Nonetheless, the year 2023 seems to be a decent year for Bitcoin advocates, who always tend to consider it as a “digital gold” or  “safe-haven investment” that can offer traders attractive returns in times of mayhem. It was a major boost for BTC in hopes that the U.S. Federal Reserves might reduce the chances of more aggressively increasing interest rates.  

Can Bitcoin Reach ,000,000 by 2025?

Bitcoin enthusiasts always have too positive and at times not possible predictions for their favorite cryptocurrency. And, after this mini-bull run, many discussions are happening around the world’s largest digital coin, BTC, the crypto coin could even witness a level of $10 lakh by 2025.

This hypothetical and notable figure of $10 lakh has been rolled by several well-known personalities in the crypto world. Recently, Standard Chartered, one of the leading British Multinational Banks raised its prediction price for the BTC ranging from $1,00,000 to $1,20,000 by the end of the year 2024 in one of its most recent research reports citing more profit to BTC miners. The MNC bank forecast BTC to reach $50,000 by the end of this current year. 

The Chinese-Canadian Bitcoin entrepreneur and CEO of crypto firm, JAN3, Samson Mow, believes that the cryptocurrency will reach $1 million in the next five years. With several such wild guesses, Balaji Srinivasan, an investor and the former technology chief at Coinbase, took a bet that BTC could reach $10 lakh or more in just 90 days.

Srinivasan made this strong statement by merely believing that as the world goes into the stage of hyperinflation, the value of the dollar will get weak due to which the people will start buying more and more BTC. The term “Hyperinflation” means an extreme increase in the price of goods and services over a period of time. 

On the other hand, cryptocurrency experts believe BTC might touch $10 lakh in the coming years, but not that soon and predicting this level in the year 2023 or in just 90 days is just not possible.

Marshall Beard stated “Bitcoin to be a million dollars in 90 days, some crazy things are happening in the world, which we don’t want,” he said, however, that it might take 10 years to reach anywhere close to this extreme prediction.

Will Bitcoin Crash Again in 2023?

(The Bearish View)

There are different sets of investors too, large institutions and corporates who hold an opposite view (bearish) on Bitcoin and have a strong opinion that Bitcoin might fall shortly. They believe that this rally is a major “bull trap” rather than a “bull run”. Global investor, Mark Mobius, the billionaire founder of Mobius Capital Partners, predicted a huge fall in 2022 and even said that Bitcoin can go down to the $10,000 range.

The same is predicted by another investor, Matthew Sigel, head of digital assets research at VanEck, a global investment manager who sees BTC drop to $12,000 levels, mentioning higher energy prices. 

On the other hand, global bank Standard Chartered’s prediction on Bitcoin is super surprising. They predicted that BTC would fall to $5,000 levels in the current year 2023.

Crypto experts believe that the rising hikes and tighter monetary policy will not allow BTC to rebound sharply in the coming future. As in this kind of unpredicted market, traders will not choose to invest or buy risky assets like Bitcoin. And, those investors who have been holding BTC, might sell it, creating undue pressure on the crypto markets again. 

Bottom Line  

Among the myriad predictions on Bitcoin, the bottom line remains that Bitcoin has seen several downfalls and has emerged stronger than before each time. Its resilient nature instills a belief of sorts in the minds of crypto enthusiasts who find value in investing in decentralized currencies. Whether Bitcoin soars higher or turns to dust is something only time can tell, and trading Bitcoin should be done with full awareness your investment will not necessarily give you the anticipated returns.