Mike Novogratz believes Bitcoin is set to eclipse its all-time high (ATH) of $19,700 within the next year-and-a-half. The billionaire BTC bull and CEO of Galaxy Digital says the top-ranked cryptocurrency is recovering from its 2018 price slump and is gearing up for another bullish phase.
BTC is currently enjoying a stellar 2019, recently reclaiming the $6,000 price mark for the first time since November 2018. Many analysts believe BTC bottomed out during the mid-November 2018 price crash that saw Bitcoin almost fall below $3,000.
Bitcoin Will Triple in the Next 18 Months
Speaking to CNN at the SALT Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, the former hedge fund chief predicted that the price of Bitcoin will triple within the next 18 months. According to Novogratz:
“Out of the rubble, bitcoin has popped back up. It would take something like that to shatter this newfound confidence.”
Since the start of the year, BTC has gained over 65 percent as it continues to recover from the 2018 bear market. Most of Bitcoin’s 2019 gains have come between April and May 2019 where it has increased by almost 50 percent.
For Novogratz, BTC is currently on cruise control and would require a seriously catastrophic event to deflate its recent surge. On Tuesday (May 7, 2019), news emerged of hackers stealing $40 million from a hot wallet belonging to exchange behemoth Binance.
While the BTC price wasn’t affected by the news, the former Goldman Sachs investment banker says such happenings aren’t healthy for the market. Commenting on the issue, Novogratz opined:
“For institutions to feel comfortable, you’ve got to have a lot less of this. A little bit of guardrails can go a long way.”
Permabulls Forecast Massive BTC Price Surge
Novogratz isn’t the only one espousing bullish sentiment about Bitcoin. Since the turn of the year, several analysts and commentators have been calling another BTC bull run.
Many experts point to the improved technical and market fundamentals of BTC as a pointer to the impending price surge. In a 2019 market forecast published earlier in the year by Fudstrat, chief analyst and co-founder Tom Lee described BTC’s positive fundamentals as being part of the tailwinds that will drive its price even higher.
https://twitter.com/Crypto_Bitlord/status/1125713210714157058
Peter Brandt a popular Bitcoin trader who accurately called the 80 percent crash of 2018 predicted that BTC could be set for another parabolic growth phase similar to late 2017.
Other BTC enthusiasts say the influx of institutional interest in Bitcoin will lead to another bullish cycle for the top-ranked cryptocurrency. Inside sources at Fidelity Investments said the company will soon debut Bitcoin trading to its institutional clients.
Fidelity could potentially be joining an expanding field of institutional BTC trading providers like TD Ameritrade and E-Trade. The Intercontinental Exchange (ICE)-owned Bakkt is also taking significant steps to obtain approval from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to launch its physically-backed BTC futures contract.
Stock Market Meltdown Imminent
While the Bitcoin market continues to enjoy positive market sentiments, experts like Novogratz say there is an imminent meltdown in the stock market due to certain policy changes. Reports of quantitative easing and the lowering of interest rates by as much as a full percentage point is causing some concern among investors.
Bitcoin enthusiasts say such flawed fiscal and monetary policies solidify the need for BTC as a hedge against irresponsible banking practices. With the non-correlation of BTC to mainstream assets, they say holding investment positions in Bitcoin could protect investors from any shake-up in the stock market.