Investors should go long crypto now or apologize for it later, Bernstein says. The Wall Street firm released an extremely optimistic outlook for the crypto market for 2024 this week, predicting that bitcoin will hit a new all-time high in the second half of the year and could close the year at around $80,000, or about 88%. above current levels. He also predicts that bitcoin will reach $150,000 in 2025. “We expect 2024 to be a decisive inflection year for crypto,” Gautam Chhugani, Bernstein’s principal crypto analyst, wrote in the note. “Not going long crypto – strategically through fund activity or directly through digital asset ownership, or indirectly through crypto stocks – would prove costly for investors.” Bernstein recommended Bitcoin mining stocks, which offer higher beta – or higher risk and higher potential reward – than bitcoin itself. Riot Platforms and CleanSpark are Bernstein’s preferred choices. Chhugani said both companies are “market share consolidators” whose self-mining capability gives them a strong operational advantage over their competitors. They also benefit from low electricity and production costs, high liquidity and balance sheet flexibility. “We are also in a favorable macro environment[economic climate]“We’re not brave enough to be circumspect, and we love Bitcoin and Bitcoin mining stocks way too much here.” in an upward trend for months as traders become increasingly convinced that the United States Securities and Exchange Commission will soon approve a spot Bitcoin ETF. Many expect approval as early as this month. Still, although the cryptocurrency got off to a rough start in 2024, it climbed more than 12% in December and is up 157% for 2023. Separately, Bernstein’s note also indicates that ether is on the point of benefiting from it this year after its underperformance compared to bitcoin in 2023, when it nevertheless almost doubled, jumping 89%. The Ethereum narrative will strengthen after the approval of the Bitcoin ETF, as the focus shifts to Ethereum spot ETF applications by the same group of asset managers,” Chhugani said. “We expect an approval of the Ethereum ETF by June 2024.” – CNBC’s Michael Bloom contributed report.
These global stocks will soar on $858 billion power boom, Goldman says, giving 45% upside potential – CNBC
Demand for electricity and data centers has increased, and several companies in Europe are expected to benefit, according to Goldman...
Read more