Bitcoin is likely to set new records in 2024 thanks to some catalysts. Analysts at asset management company VanEck predict this and other developments for the crypto market.
• Bitcoin price recovered in 2023
• VanEck expects a new all-time high for Bitcoin in 2024
• More cryptocurrency predictions
After bitcoin After reaching its previous all-time high in November 2021, the oldest and largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization went downhill the following year. A recovery followed in 2023, which, according to VanEck experts, is likely to continue in 2024.
Bitcoin’s new all-time high in 2024
Asset management company VanEck recently released its 15 crypto predictions for 2024. Although VanEck analysts Matthew Sigel and Patrick Bush expect the US economy to slip into recession as early as the first half of 2024, they believe Bitcoin could hit new records in the new year .
Sigel and Bush cite US spot bitcoin ETFs as the reason. Experts expect these to be approved in the first quarter of the year and more than US$2.4 billion to flow into US spot bitcoin ETFs in the same period. Other SEC rulings, requests from companies like VanEck and Black stone Approval, rejection or delay is expected to come down in mid-January, according to THE BLOCK.
According to analysts, the next driver of Bitcoin price is likely to be the Bitcoin halving, which is expected to happen in April, when the block reward for Bitcoin miners will be cut in half. VanEck analysts expect the halving to happen with “minimal drama.” After the halving, Bitcoin is likely to rise above US$48,000 after a brief consolidation phase, while experts say the markets are unlikely to get distressed “thanks to significantly improved balance sheets of listed miners (. ..)”.
VanEck analysts expect bitcoin to hit a new all-time high in November 2024. “If bitcoin reaches $100,000 by December, we expect Satoshi Nakamoto to be named Time magazine’s ‘Man of the Year,'” they write.
More predictions for 2024
For the second largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization Ethereum VanEck analysts predict it will outperform all major tech stocks in 2024 — but not Bitcoin, as they said in their fourth forecast.
Meanwhile, Ethereum will introduce “EIP-4844 (Proto-Danksharding), which will reduce transaction fees and improve scalability for Layer 2 chains like Polygon, Arbitrum, Optimism, and others,” VanEck’s report continues. “Within a year of the upgrade, Ethereum L2 will consolidate to 2-3 dominant players in terms of value and usage. One will achieve higher monthly DEX/TVL volume than Ethereum for the first time.”
Additionally, Sigel and Bush expect monthly NFT volume to approach a new all-time high. This is because “speculators are returning to cryptocurrencies, turning to high-end NFT collections on Ethereum, enhanced cryptocurrency games and new Bitcoin-based offerings.” NFT ETH to BTC issuance ratio will move towards 3:1.
In addition, according to analysts, crypto exchange Binance is likely to lose its leading position as a centralized exchange in terms of volume after a billion-dollar settlement with US regulators. Competitors like Okx, Bybit, Coinbase and Bitget would then fight for the lead according to forecast number seven.
VanEck also expects the market capitalization of stablecoins to reach a new high of over $200 billion and the market share of decentralized exchanges in spot cryptocurrency trading to reach an all-time high, driven by fast blockchains such as Solana and significantly improved wallets.
In addition, analysts predict that remittances and smart contract platforms will open up a new opportunity for income: “Remittances will become the death use case for blockchain as the easier expansion and issuance of stablecoins makes payments to emerging market recipients cheap and useful.
Additionally, according to VanEck, at least one blockchain game is likely to reach more than a million players per day. Among the potential candidates, IMX, which has already released some high-budget games in 2024 and has a well-designed token, is most likely to become one of the top 25 coins by market capitalization, according to VanEck analysts. “Additionally, Immutable has worked to address many of the technical vulnerabilities that have so far hindered the success of Web3 gaming, such as wallet management,” Sigel and Bush wrote. The increased simplicity, combined with large distribution partners, could allow the “blockchain-based game to become a mainstream hit.”
According to prediction number twelve, Solana will be among the top 3 blockchains “by market cap, total value locked (TVL) and active users. “Driven by this surge, Solana will join the spot ETF wars thanks to a flood of asset managers submitting applications.”
Analysts also expect an increase in the deployment of decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePin). “Several Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks (DePin) will experience meaningful adoption that will attract public attention,” the analysts said.
“New accounting standards will rejuvenate corporate cryptocurrency holdings,” reads prediction number 14. “Coinbase will be the first publicly traded company to report Layer 2 blockchain revenue in its quarterly statements,” it says. Due to the accounting changes, “a large non-cryptocurrency financial institution (bank, exchange) could announce the creation of a quasi-public blockchain (…).
Last but not least, VanEck expects “KYC-enabled gardening apps (…) to gain traction and approach or even surpass non-KYC apps in terms of user base and fees. “Uniswap will lead other protocols in enabling this feature,” the VanEck report states. This will attract institutional liquidity and increase protocol volume, which analysts say could boost Uniswap’s token value.