"Double by Year-End, Don't Sell Now"...Wall Street Giants Issue Bold Bitcoin Forecast

Bernstein: "Bitcoin Clearly at a Bottom"

Forecasts $150,000 by Year-End, $200,000 by End of Next Year

Wall Street analysts have concluded that Bitcoin, the leading global cryptocurrency, has completed a prolonged correction phase and established a solid bottom. They assess that as the market shifts away from volatile retail-driven trading towards a structure dominated by institutional capital, the potential for medium- to long-term gains has increased.

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No Panic Selling Even in a Bear Market: "Bottom Signal"

As of 1:30 p.m. on March 25, according to CoinMarketCap, a global cryptocurrency market tracker, Bitcoin is trading around USD 70,700. On Upbit, a major Korean exchange, it is trading at approximately KRW 105.5 million.

This represents a decline of more than 40% from its all-time high of around USD 126,000 recorded in October last year, but the market is instead seeing this as evidence of downside rigidity.

In a recent report, Wall Street investment bank Bernstein stated, "The current price range is clearly forming a bottom," and emphasized, "The key point is that the sharp panic selling observed in past downtrends did not occur this time."

Market Structure Matures with Inflow of Institutional Funds

The defining characteristic of this cycle is a shift in market structure. Whereas prices were previously driven by retail investor funds, spot ETFs and institutional capital have now become the main pillars of market liquidity.

Bernstein analyzed, "Even during the recent market correction, robust demand from institutions via ETFs has provided strong support, reversing the outflows seen earlier in the year to net inflows." The report added, "Additionally, as banks begin to offer Bitcoin financial services, new institutional funding channels are opening up."

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Active purchases by corporations are also supporting the bullish outlook. Companies such as MicroStrategy are raising funds through stock issuance and convertible bonds to purchase large amounts of Bitcoin.

The report noted, "Some companies' annual purchase volumes now exceed the amount of newly issued Bitcoin," and evaluated that "the strengthening links between the crypto asset market and traditional financial markets are creating structural demand."

Increase in Long-Term Holders Reduces Volatility

The profile of investors has also changed compared to the past. Currently, over 60% of the total Bitcoin supply is considered to be in a 'long-term hold' state, meaning it has not moved for over a year. This indicates that selling pressure from short-term price fluctuations is decreasing, which is seen as a key factor in lowering market volatility.

Bernstein expects these structural changes to weaken the conventional "four-year cycle" pattern. While previous cycles were marked by sharp rallies and crashes around halving events, the influx of institutional demand could extend the upward cycle. Bernstein projected that Bitcoin could reach around USD 150,000 by the end of this year and potentially USD 200,000 by 2027.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.