Leading American investment bank JPMorgan Chase has doubled down on its prediction for Bitcoin (BTC/USD), the largest crypto by market capitalization. The bank believes that BTC will soar as high as $146,000.00 (?108,573.63) in the coming year. This prediction comes after the bank initially predicted that the digital asset would plunge from its current level to a fair price of $35,000.00 (?26,027.92).
, the bank’s team of strategists, led by Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou, shared this prediction in a clients’ note. According to JPMorgan, BTC is a scarce asset that has been increasingly competing against gold as an inflation hedge. Panigirtzoglou noted that the resurgence of inflation concerns among investors in September and October renewed interest in the adoption of BTC as an inflation hedge.
He added that,
Bitcoin’s allure as an inflation hedge has perhaps been strengthened by the failure of gold to respond in recent weeks to heightened concerns over inflation.
With inflation hitting a 13-year high in the US, investors are increasingly seeking alternative investment options. While gold has been the dominant inflation hedge, JPMorgan believes a shift is in order. The strategists claim the increasing number of millennials in the investing universe and their preference for digital assets will see BTC continue competing with gold.
BTC’s volatility must fall to attract more investors
Panigirtzoglou pointed out that the investment in gold is vast. Should investors start shifting from gold and embracing alternative assets, he believes flagship crypto will experience a massive upside. However, BTC’s volatility, which is currently four to five times higher than gold, would have to subside sharply before mainstream investors enter its market.
Nonetheless, the bank seems bullish on crypto, with its strategists saying,
Digital assets have emerged as a clear winner post the pandemic, with retail investors joining institutional investors such as family offices, hedge funds and real money asset managers including insurance companies in propagating the asset class.
However, if BTC fails to shake off its volatility, JPMorgan believes the coin might slump to its fair prediction of $35,000.00 (?26,027.92). The bank previously said BTC surging to $100,000.00 (?74,351.00) is not practical and instead set the best-case scenario price for BTC at $73,000.00 (?54,276.23).
This news comes as BTC continues trading above $60,000.00 (?44,604.30) after slipping from its October 20 ATH of $66,930.39 (?49,756.39). At the time of writing, the coin is down 0.26% in the day to change hands at $61,508.84 (?45,725.98).
The post JPMorgan sees BTC at 146K; Cites increasing use as an inflation hedge appeared first on .
