- Bitcoin surged dramatically on Wednesday.
- It is now trading above $97,500.
- But analysts say it can hit even higher.
Bitcoin‘s price surged 4.4% to reach above $97,500 on Wednesday, a price the top crypto hasn’t traded at since November.
It is not immediately clear what drove the sudden spike, but market analysts expect that Bitcoin could hit even higher.
Other cryptocurrencies also surged on Wednesday. Ethereum is up 6% over the past 24 hours to trade at $3,371 and XRP is up 2.7% to trade at $2.16.
The price spikes comes after crypto markets have been traded flat for two months since a major sell-off in October. The overall crypto market is down about $1 trillion from its all-time high set in October.
The case for $200,000
Bitcoin will pass the $200,000 mark by March, BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes argued in December.
His argument hinges on the idea that the Federal Reserve will pump more liquidity into the US market by buying some $40 billion of government debt.
When investors realise that this is “thinly disguised” money printing, then the top crypto’s price will strike a new record, Hayes argued.
He presented a similar argument in January. He said that the Trump Administration’s capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. will give the US access to the Latin American country’s oil.
This will, in turn, keep petrol prices as well as inflation down at the same time as the US government pushes more liquidity into the market.
“As the amount of dollars expands, the price of Bitcoin and certain cryptos will skyrocket,” Hayes wrote.
‘Substantially higher’
Matt Hougan, chief investment officer at Bitwise, told DL News this week that Bitcoin’s price will “go substantially higher” if three conditions are met.
Those conditions are the market manages to avoid another October-like flash crash; that the US government passes the Clarity Act, which will provide regulatory clarity for the crypto industry; and that the the broader stock market keeps performing well.
To be sure, he warned that the whales threaten to tank the market again if they sell off their holdings at too low a price.
Eric Johansson is DL News’ managing editor. Got a tip? Email him at eric@dlnews.com.
