The cryptocurrency stabilized above $40,000. Is now a buying opportunity?
(Photo: Reuters)
Dusseldorf It held the $40,000 mark after Bitcoin’s recent pullback. Now the course of the oldest and most important cryptocurrency resumes. According to data from analyst house Coinmarketcap, on Thursday it was trading at just under $42,000.
Experts see much more price potential this year – on average, they expect highs of $81,680. This is the result of a survey by the online platform Finder.com, which asked 35 fintech and crypto specialists about their assessment of the market.
The most optimistic is Ben Ritchie, managing director of wealth manager Digital Capital Management, with a year-end price target of $100,000. He believes in bitcoin’s function as a store of value: “Since there is an unlimited supply of fiat currencies, the best way for individuals and institutions to maintain their purchasing power is to invest in scarce assets. like bitcoin.
Bitcoin price: Most experts expect a new high
In this regard, the majority of respondents see an opportunity to buy in the latest price pullback: just over two-thirds (67%) think now is the right time to buy Bitcoin. Only nine percent see a good time to go out.
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On average, experts expect the price to hit a high of $81,680 this year – well above the current all-time high of just under $69,000 from November 2021. By the end of the year, they expect an average pullback to $65,185. However, compared to the current rate, this would still represent an increase of more than 50%.
However, price targets are not an expression of unlimited optimism. Compared to the beginning of the year, forecasts have fallen by 15%. In the long term, experts see more potential for other cryptocurrencies anyway.
Technology expert Joseph Raczynski of media group Thomson Reuters believes: “Bitcoin is a flash in the pan. At the moment, it really only serves another currency, similar to a dollar, euro or pound. Other blockchains that serve various purposes will likely have a chance to take the throne,” he said.
Raczynski is betting on Ethereum instead: “It can serve as money, but has created a platform that tokenizes all assets and creates a massive platform for the Internet of Things. It’s potentially much bigger than Bitcoin.
Bitcoin: the Ethereum cryptocurrency has a technical advantage
John Hawkins, a senior lecturer at the University of Canberra, also sees Ethereum as an advantage over Bitcoin because it “has a stronger use case. Especially if Ethereum ever converts to Proof of Stake, making it greener.
New Bitcoins, but also other cryptocurrencies are created in the so-called “digging” or “mining” process. This process requires enormous computing power and therefore energy. The reason for this is the “Proof of Work” concept, with which miners update the blockchain, i.e. the accounting of the system. The alternative “Proof of Stake” process uses only a fraction of the energy.
After: Green cryptocurrencies: Ethereum could become a pioneer with a new technology.
This article was first published on April 21, 2022 at 2:02 p.m.