JPMorgan: Institutional Investors to Sell $3 Trillion of Gold to Push Bitcoin Price to $45,000 by Year’s End

Being one of the best-performing asset classes so far this year in 2023, Bitcoin (BTC) continues to be on the radar of both small as well as large investors. In a recent note, JPMorgan analysts noted that if Bitcoin starts resembling the price performance as well as the investment structure of Gold, its price could skyrocket to a staggering $45,000.

After a brutal crypto winter in 2022, Bitcoin started 2023 at around $16,000, however, quickly gained momentum in the first few months. The Bitcoin price touched its 2023-high of $30,000 multiple times and it has been facing strong rejections.

Currently, after the recent rejection at $30,000, the BTC price is once again trading under $28,000. Besides, it continues to face headwinds from global macro developments such as sticky inflation, the probability of US default, and much more. However, despite this, the Bitcoin (BTC) price continues to trade at 60% gains year-to-date.

As per JPMorgan analysts, Bitcoin holds the possibility of surging another 75 percent from the current levels. However, for this to happen, Bitcoin needs investor acceptance similar to that of Gold. The note from JPMorgan reads:

Investors are currently holding gold for investment purposes outside of central banks to the tune of around $3 trillion, which, if paralleled with Bitcoin, presents a $45,000 price. This projection is based on the assumption that Bitcoin’s value will match that of gold in private investors’ portfolios, in terms of risk capital or volume.

Will Bitcoin Get the Trust That Gold Gets?

For years, the yellow metal Gold has served as a strong hedge to volatility in the global financial markets. So far in 2023, Gold has given some odd 7 percent returns, of course, much less than what Bitcoin has given.

Crypto enthusiasts often call Bitcoin the Digital Gold, however, considering the massive volatility of the asset class, it’s still far from showing the structure of Gold. But one thing is sure Bitcoin is surely maturing as a store of value with investors seeing it as a strong bet against inflation in the long term.

Besides, JPMorgan strategists see the upcoming Bitcoin halving event in mid-2024 as a catalyzing factor in driving the BTC prices higher from here onwards. They noted:

Historically, Bitcoin’s production cost has acted as an effective minimum limit. Past halving events in 2016 and 2020 triggered an uptick in bitcoin prices that gathered momentum post the halving event.

For now, Bitcoin has been trading in the tight range. Talks of raising the US debt ceiling further provided some boost to Bitcoin on Monday. However, that was short-lived as the BTC price once again dropped under $28,000 later in the day.