Coinspeaker
Bitcoin Maintains $30K Price as Investors Await Data on Inflation and Jobless Claims
The price of Bitcoin (BTC) has maintained its level above $30K for a while now, even as it has been swinging. However, market forces heavily threaten the king coin as inflation and unemployment in the US seem unfavorable.
Several conditions may affect the price of Bitcoin in the near future. For instance, the US Federal Reserve recently published hawkish minutes that point to potential rate hikes. As it struggles to fight inflation. The release caused BTC to fall below $31,000 on Thursday, along with a declining global stock market.
According to Nexo co-founder Antoni Trenchev, not much may happen to Bitcoin, especially in relation to the Federal Reserve’s decision. Trenchev said:
“With headline inflation continuing to drift lower while core inflation remains sticky, don’t expect the narrative to change too much when it comes to this month’s Fed meeting.”
Currently, these macroeconomic factors may not augur well for Bitcoin. However, a general anticipation of the inflation and unemployment data may keep BTC hovering around $30,000 until Thursday when these data become available.
According to CoinMarketCap data, Bitcoin is trading at $30,163, after falling 1.57% in the past 7 days.
Bitcoin’s $30K Is Mild Considering Other Predictions
Although Bitcoin has lost nearly 3% in the last few days, its 2023 has been commendable. In the last month, BTC has climbed almost 17%, and more than 48% in the last year. Since January, investors have seen an 82.15% increase in the value of their portfolios. Considering its steady rise, there is still a general bullishness in the Bitcoin sentiment.
Multinational banking and treasury services giant Standard Chartered released a report on July 10 with a bullish outlook for Bitcoin. According to the report, BTC could hit $50,000 this year and $120,000 in 2024.
One of the reasons for Standard Chartered’s bullishness, especially for next year, is the upcoming Bitcoin halving. The halving event sees Bitcoin block rewards cut in half – 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC for next year’s event. The reduction in supply creates scarcity which usually drives Bitcoin’s price.
Interestingly, Standard Chartered initially had a $100,000 prediction for Bitcoin for 2024 December. The bank believed that the crypto winter was over and that Bitcoin would continue its increase and eventually hit $100,000 next month. However, Standard Chartered analyst Geoff Kendrick has increased this projection. Kendrick believes that each miner’s “profitability per BTC mined” suggests that a miner can maintain cash inflows and sell less. This reduces Bitcoin’s net supply and increases its price.
Another enthusiastic Bitcoin prediction has come from BitMex co-founder Arthur Hayes who believes the AI boom would benefit Bitcoin. In a recent publication, Hayes said Bitcoin could become an artificial intelligence (AI) currency.
Hayes argues that future AI tools may require blockchain-based payment as it would need more than the “analogue banking system [that is] balkanised between geographies and banks themselves”. He then argues that Bitcoin would be the best bet as it is available on a blockchain, censorship-resistant, provably scarce, and has provable longevity.
Bitcoin Maintains $30K Price as Investors Await Data on Inflation and Jobless Claims
