and other cryptocurrencies were falling Wednesday. The crypto sector was giving back gains after a sharp rally to start the year but some analysts see reasons for continued strength.
has fallen 0.6% to $45,372 over the last 24 hours. The largest cryptocurrency broke through $45,000 for the first time in more than a year on Tuesday.
The main catalyst for Bitcoin remains the possible approval of exchange-traded funds tied to the cryptocurrency’s spot price, with launches expected as soon as next week. Multiple potential issuers of the ETFs have recently detailed their planned fees for the funds.
“We believe the fundamental backdrop for Bitcoin is … solid at the moment, reflecting broad-based accumulation by long-term investors, slowing supply growth from the Bitcoin miners, and a very high likelihood that the long-debated physically-backed US exchange traded funds will eventually be approved,” wrote Carsten Menke, head of Next Generation Research at Julius Baer, in a research note.
Meanwhile, analysts at AllianceBernstein wrote in a research note that Bitcoin could potentially end the year at around $80,000, according to MarketWatch, citing the potential ETF approval, the so-called halving event expected in April, and growing demand from companies.
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the second largest cryptocurrency, was down 1.4% at $2,380. Among smaller cryptocurrencies,
dropped 6.1% and
fell 2.8%.
was down 2%.
Write to Adam Clark at adam.clark@barrons.com
