Bitget analyst forecast for Bitcoin and Ethereum

Bitget Research lead analyst Ryan Lee has made a pair of March 2024 predictions for Bitcoin and Ethereum.

These are analyzes that take into consideration the global context and the possible evolution of the price of the two main cryptocurrencies, BTC and ETH, during the month that has just begun.

Bitget: Bitcoin predictions

Lee points out that a new cycle of upward movement began on February 27th on the price of Bitcoin, surpassing the previous annual high of $57,000.

Furthermore, BTC’s daily trading volume rose to around $80 billion on spot markets, while the nine Bitcoin ETFs in the US reached a new trading high of $3.2 billion.

The fact is that institutional sentiment is bullish and strong, and there are only about fifty days left before the halving. To this we must also add the expectations of an interest rate cut by the Fed around the middle of the year.

Lee concludes that Bitcoin has found support at $50,000, and that volatility could remain high enough in March to even potentially allow it to challenge all-time highs.

In fact, the highest price ever reached by BTC in dollars was $69,000 on 10 November 2021, and currently according to Lee himself the upper resistance would be between $60,000 and precisely the fateful $69,000, with the lower support between $48,000 and $52,000.

The key level is therefore $69,000, which is both the current maximum upper resistance and the historical record for 2021.

Given that volatility is expected to remain high in March, a jump from current levels to $69,000 seems within reach for BTC.

The prediction on Ethereum

Lee highlights that the current price of ETH is a little weaker than BTC, but is gradually accelerating.

The ETH/BTC exchange rate surpassed 0.06, driven by Bitcoin’s more than 10% rally on February 27 followed by a slight retracement. However, it rose more than 13% in the last half of the month.

However, the Dencun update should be completed in the first quarter of 2024, with various Layer 2 and reorganization projects that could boost ETH.

Therefore in March Ethereum for Lee could finally manage to break through the $3,500 wall, with support set at $3,100 and a concentrated area of ​​chips at $2,900.

Furthermore, there is the expectation of the possible approval of spot ETH ETFs in the USA in May, and this expectation in March could strengthen Ethereum compared to Bitcoin.

So according to Lee, ETH could even get to test the $4,300 range, with the actual range depending on market liquidity and expected to fluctuate between $2,500 and $3,500 most of the time.

Predictions on the price of Bitcoin and Ethereum from March onwards: the Bitget analyst speaks

Lee also adds that based on past cycles, there would also be a possibility that BTC would experience further growth to reach a peak within six months to a year and a half after the halving. ETH could follow this trend.

Additionally, with the possible entry of major traditional financial institutions, he says it could also be expected that collective market forces could push ETH to record a new all-time high above $4,900 for the rest of the year.

In fact, it should not be forgotten that the milestone of 2024 is the Bitcoin halving in April, which could influence the entire crypto market.

This could mean on the one hand a further rise in prices before mid-April, and then perhaps a post-halving retracement as if a sell the news were triggered.

However, a few months after the halving this could start to impact the supply of BTC on the crypto markets, causing its price to rise.

Altcoins may follow a similar trend, as they more or less always have, overall.

The anomaly

However, it should be specified that in the past a historical high had never been recorded shortly before the halving, because the new highs always arrived months after the event.

This year from this point of view seems anomalous, but at least the reason is clear.

In fact, never before have spot Bitcoin ETFs been present on US stock exchanges which effectively allowed anyone to take a position on the price of BTC.

The strong overall capital inflows that have occurred over the last month and a half into these funds are a first in Bitcoin’s 15-year lifespan, and this anomaly is making 2024 very different from other halving years (2012, 2016 and 2020).

It remains to be seen whether the effect of the halving, months after its advent, will be similar to those of the past, or not.