Standard Chartered bank anticipates bitcoin falling towards $50,000

In the midst of bitcoin dropping below $60,000, Standard Chartered bank is counting on future disruptions for the queen of cryptocurrencies.

While bitcoin has been panicking investors for months, high volatility has returned for the queen of cryptos. Despite the success of the halving, the asset is experiencing a period of turbulence which could well continue. A closer look at its monthly performances provides some answers. In April, bitcoin recorded its worst performance since the bankruptcy of the FTX platform in November 2022.

Between Tuesday and Wednesday, bitcoin fell by more than 10%, falling below the symbolic threshold of $60,000. A decline which ended 7 months of consecutive increases according to Trading View data. “

The month of April closed with a drop of 14.93%, marking the worst month for bitcoin since the fall of the FTX platform which saw a drop of 16.24%,” reports Cryptoast.

This fall below $60,000 “reopened the way to the $50,000 to $52,000 range,” said Geoffrey Kendrick, head of forex and digital assets research at Standard Chartered.

Liquidation risk

According to the latter, two elements now come into play. On the one hand, the reduced interest of investors in spot bitcoin ETFs in the United States which have recorded 5 consecutive days of negative flows. With an average purchase price of $58,000 for these financial products, the risk of liquidation “of certain positions on bitcoin spot ETFs must be taken into account,” estimates the financial analyst.

The same is true in Hong Kong where the first spot bitcoin ETFs, launched this Tuesday, are currently a flop. “The funds’ first day of trading only saw around $10 million in inflows,” Tickmill’s James Harte told AFP.

On the other hand, bitcoin could remain sensitive to decisions by the Federal Reserve (Fed). Faced with high inflation and a lower probability of a rate cut, bitcoin could “return towards $50,000 to $52,000, unless the American consumer price index on May 15 is favorable,” concludes Geoffrey Kendrick.