The main virtual asset updated two-week lows below $43,000 on Thursday, but by the end of the session almost completely recovered most of the losses due to the rebound of key US stock market indices. At one point, the cost of the BTC was balancing at $43,288.
According to the world's largest aggregator of data on virtual assets CoinGecko, over the past day, the total capitalization of the crypto market has not changed and remained at $2.11 trillion. At the same time, the indicator of fear and greed on the eve fell by 14 points – to 34 points. The index rose to 37 points on Friday, but continues to remain in a state of "fear".
In early April, bitcoin quotes turned out to be below market forecasts amid negative events on world markets, as well as the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. So, in the first week of this month, the price of digital gold sank from $48,000 to $43,000.
Experts call the Russian-Ukrainian conflict the main downward factor for the cryptocurrency market. Analysts are confident that the sooner the tense geopolitical situation begins to stabilize, the more confident the digital asset market will feel in the near future. After the peace agreements are reached, the economy will need to be restored, which will require a lot of money. One of the components of this tangible amount of funds will be cryptocurrency. In this case, the digital asset market will receive a spectacular boost and rush to growth.
The unpredictable behavior of the cryptocurrency market forces experts to make the most unexpected predictions about its future. Famous trader Peter Brandt predicted the return of digital gold to a bullish trend no earlier than May 2024.
As proof of his opinion, the analyst recalled that traditionally, it took about 33 months after the end of the previous one to start a new stage of confident growth of the military-industrial complex. Since the first cryptocurrency reached its historical record in November 2021, the next round of takeoff should happen in May 2024.
By the way, investors reacted to the statement of the American expert with due attention, because earlier the trader had already given an accurate forecast regarding the price of bitcoin in mid-2021.
Michael Novogratz, director of virtual asset management company Galaxy Digital, adheres to no less pessimistic scenarios regarding the future of bitcoin. Recently, he said that the main virtual asset will take off again only after the US Federal Reserve suspends monetary policy tightening.
If you believe the schedule of the expected trajectory of the key rate, the Fed plans to increase the cost of financing in the economy during 2022-2023. In turn, Novogratz believes that in the near future the US central bank will raise interest rates by another 50 basis points.
The opinion of the crypto expert on the policy of the Fed was confirmed in the published results of the March meeting of the Monetary Committee of the central bank. So, for the first time since the end of 2018, the agency increased the key rate by 25 basis points.
At the same time, many representatives of the Fed advocated an increase in the indicator by 50 basis points at once, which may occur during the next meeting of the central bank, scheduled for May 4-5.
Among other things, millionaire Michael Novogratz called bitcoin an excellent alternative to fiat money and insurance against inflation. At the same time, the expert noted that the cryptocurrency will be considered by investors neither as a means for payments, but as a store of value. Today, the analyst added, bitcoin is increasingly becoming part of the portfolios of institutional investors.
