Confidence in the continuing strength of bitcoin and Ethereum is driving wider interest in altcoins and other digital assets, according to new global research by London-based Nickel Digital Asset Management (Nickel).
Up to 83 per cent of institutional investors and wealth managers believe the recent strong performance of the two leading cryptocurrencies will fuel demand for other digital assets, the study with investors in the US, UK, Germany, Switzerland, Singapore, Brazil and the United Arab Emirates who collectively manage around USD815 billion in assets found.
Nearly three out of four (72 per cent) are confident bitcoin will breach the USD100,000 barrier while 25 per cent are not convinced it will. Among those confident about bitcoin hitting USD100,000 around half (50 per cent) are convinced the landmark will be achieved within five years.
The survey, completed in January 2024, asked institutional investors and wealth managers to predict prices for bitcoin and Ethereum by the end of 2024. Around 76 per cent predicted bitcoin would reach USD45,000 by the end of the year – it is currently already over USD51,000. That included just 21 per cent who predicted it would hit USD50,000 or more. Around 40 per cent predicted Ethereum would reach USD2,500 by the end of the year – it is currently over USD2,700.
Thus, the upper end of the 2024 full-year forecasts have already come true, the firm says.
The same applied to predictions about the global crypto market with 60 per cent of respondents forecasting the marketcap will reach USD1.4 trillion the end of the year. It has already exceeded this level and currently stands at just under USD2 trillion.
Anatoly Crachilov, CEO and Founding Partner at Nickel Digital, says: “The confidence of institutional investors in market growth in 2024 is striking, but even this optimism got eclipsed by the actual growth in the first weeks of the year, propelled by the broad-base demand for BTC following the successful ETF launch.
“Furthermore, the broader digital asset market is likely to become the second-order beneficiary of bitcoin appreciation, as tokens with smart contract capabilities that cater for a diverse range of innovative use cases will attract closer attention. Given smaller market cap of these tokens, any marginal dollar invested in them, tend to have a more pronounced price impact, potentially resulting in these tokens significantly outperforming bitcoin and Ethereum over the investment cycle, according to our analysis.”
