Individual and institutional investor interest could continue to push cryptos higher as trust, regulations, and guardrails in the industry incrementally get better. 'Investors are looking for protection from volatile market conditions and these assets, like gold, are quickly emerging as a safe guard against rising prices. The endurance of digital assets over a rough couple of months shows it still ranks high among retail investors,' Raju told Insider in emailed comments. The recent regional banking crisis and current macro factors are pushing bitcoin higher. 'While retail investors are a bit pained by the string of bad news surrounding a few players and firms, they still feel optimistic that crypto is an asset class that is here to stay. 'While the regulatory environment for cryptocurrencies in the US is still uncertain, there is a risk that some banks may face regulatory pressure that forces them to discontinue their involvement with cryptocurrencies, which would have a large impact on both the markets and the industry,' he added.ĭan Raju, CEO of Tradier, fintech and brokerage firm 'The larger concern is whether the regulatory environment in the US will become more hostile towards cryptocurrencies because of this outcome, which could have a more significant impact on the industry as a whole,' he told Insider in emailed comments. The crypto market is unlikely to see a significant impact from the failure this week of First Republic Bank, the fourth US bank shutdown this year, because the event had been a subject of market speculation for weeks, according to Chen. US lawmakers are locked in a standoff over the need to raise the government's borrowing limits and if they don't reach an agreement before June, the country could fail to meet some upcoming payment obligations.

He also recently told Insider that the coin could jump nearly 70% if the US defaults on its debt. 'Against this backdrop, bitcoin has benefited from its status as a branded safe haven, a perceived relative store of value and a means of remittance,' Kendrick said. In addition, bitcoin gained some safe-haven appeal during the recent banking turmoil, thanks to its decentralized nature, and has also gained from the declines of some of its key rival tokens. The prospect of a quadrennial halving of bitcoin supply in 2024 is also acting as a support. Expectations that the Federal Reserve's interest-rate hikes are nearing an end is one - the central bank's policy tightening had a lot to do with last year's selloff.

Multiple factors are favoring the token now, according to Standard Chartered. 'We see potential for bitcoin to reach the USD 100,000 level by end-2024, as we believe the much-touted 'crypto winter' is finally over,' the bank's head of research wrote in a note last week.

Candide and optimism