The start of a new year marked the beginning of Bitcoin price and crypto market forecasts on social media and mainstream media platforms. Experts debate whether bulls or bears will drive the 2023 price action. Last year, bears took over and sent the benchmark crypto back to 2020 levels.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin’s price is trading at $16,700, a small gain during today’s trading session. At higher timeframes, the cryptocurrency continues to register sideways price action. The latter could act as the dominant price action for 2023.
The best is yet to come for Bitcoin price
By a report from CNBC, Bitcoin price is headed for an extreme shift in its trajectory. Optimistic pundits such as BTC bull Tim Draper believe the cryptocurrency will move higher from current levels.
Draper believes the benchmark crypto will stage a 1,400% rally, regain previously lost ground and break above $250,000 by mid-2023. The BTC bulls believe macroeconomic conditions will drive adoption much higher.
One demographic will lead this potential new wave of adoption coinciding with the upcoming Bitcoin halving. This event is scheduled for 2024, but in the past the market has priced in the impact much earlier. draper said:
My assumption is that since women control 80% of retail spending, and only 1 in 7 bitcoin wallets are currently owned by women, the dam is about to break.
University of Sussex finance professor Carol Alexander believes Bitcoin could see two rallies in the near term. The first could bring the Bitcoin price back to $30,000, and the second to $50,000 thanks to less trading volume and prominent players.
As FTX and Three Arrows Capital collapse, Alexander expects less competition in the market, which could give other prominent players room to push BTC upwards. The professor explained:
There will be a controlled bull market in 2023, not a bubble – so we won’t see the price rise like before. We will see stable trending prices for a month or two, interspersed with range-bound periods and probably a few short-lived crashes.
Investigating Less Favorable Scenarios, How Low Can BTC Go?
Better macroeconomic landscape, acceptance, halving and supply tightness, and less competition. These are the factors that can work in favor of the cryptocurrency.
On the other hand, Standard Charted’s Eric Robertsen claims that Bitcoin price could return to 2020 levels and hit USD 5,000. A lack of investor confidence and more crypto capitulation could drive this scenario.
Low liquidity levels in the industry make matters worse. The current state of the market could take another step down if the US Federal Reserve (Fed) doubles down on aggressive monetary policy.
According to Mark Mobius, who successfully predicted the BTC crash from $30,000 to $20,000 in 2022, the cryptocurrency could fall to around $10,000 if the Fed continues to tighten. mobileus said:
With higher interest rates, holding or buying Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies becomes less attractive, as just holding the coin will not earn you any interest.
