Bitcoin could hit $125k in Q1: Analyst

This is a segment from the Empire newsletter. To read full editions, subscribe.

---

There have been, quite frankly, a lot of predictions floating around, which is to be expected. 

It’s hard to filter through the noise to pull out ones that are either fun to pay attention to, or have the highest odds of success. 

On Empire this week, Jason Yanowitz and Santiago Santos recapped their predictions over the last couple of years and gave some forward-looking ones, including a bitcoin price target. 

Let’s start with the price target: $150k sometime this year. Not necessarily the biggest prediction, given that we’ve seen Bitwise and Bernstein, in their own calls, say it could go as high as $200,000 before year-end. 

With bitcoin (barely) back above $100k, it seems like the bullish vibes are coming back after a fairly bumpy ride at the end of last year. Ledn’s John Glover thinks this first quarter could see a rally up to $125,000, which would get us just under the target given by Yanowitz and Santos. 

Sounds like this prediction, if we maintain this course, is a matter of when, not if. 

One other prediction that I found feasible, and honestly quite interesting, was about stablecoins. Yanowitz came ready on this one, admitting that he had four different predictions involving stablecoins. The big one, though, is that he thinks this could be the year that we see a big bank, a tech company and a fintech company all launch their own stablecoins. 

Focusing specifically on banks, the big hurdle they’ve faced so far is just the lack of regulation in the space. It’s a topic we’ve discussed a few times here on Empire, but if we’re set to see an overhaul at the SEC and a change in the way the regulator engages with crypto-curious companies, then Yanowitz’s prediction once again may be a matter of time rather than feasibility. 

At the very least, the Empire hosts are not alone. Galaxy also predicted that we could see a number of TradFi-backed stablecoin partnerships announced this year. 

So, my question then is, who’s first?

---

Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

• The Breakdown: Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily.
• 0xResearch: Alpha in your inbox. Think like an analyst.
• Empire: Crypto news and analysis to start your day.
• Forward Guidance: The intersection of crypto, macro and policy.
• The Drop: Apps, games, memes and more.
• Lightspeed: All things Solana.
• Supply Shock: Bitcoin, bitcoin, bitcoin.