Standard Chartered predicts a ‘surprise’ Bitcoin drop following the FTX collapse

According to the global research head and senior strategist at Standard Chartered, Bitcoin’s value might fall as low as $5,000 in 2023.

As first reported by Bloomberg, Chief Strategist Eric Robertson of the global bank considered the possibility that a decline in Bitcoin’s value would be accompanied by a rise in the price of actual Gold in a letter to investors released on December 4.

Robertsen presented potential scenarios for 2023 that might result in interest rate decreases following increases in 2022, additional cryptocurrency industry bankruptcies, and unfavorable market sentiment.

A further loss of 70% from its current market value could occur for Bitcoin in the coming year, while an increase of up to 30% to $2,250 per ounce for gold is possible.

For the larger cryptocurrency ecosystem, 2022’s final months have been turbulent. The failure of Sam Bankman-Alameda Fried’s Research hedge fund and FTX bitcoin exchange rocked the industry in what had already been a challenging year.

Due in part to significant exposure to FTX and Alameda and liabilities the latter had with the former, FTX’s bankruptcy procedures have already caused collateral harm, with cryptocurrency lender BlockFi following in its footsteps.

In the meanwhile, proponents of cryptocurrencies have offered conflicting predictions for the market in 2023. Tim Draper, a well-known venture capitalist and blockchain investor, predicted that Bitcoin will reach $250,000 next year, stressing his conviction that the FTX debacle would promote further decentralization, BTC adoption, and user self-custody.

Henrik Zeberg, a macro market analyst, predicted a likely rise in the value of Bitcoin and other risk assets beyond the $100,000 threshold in late November, as Cointelegraph previously reported.

Mark Yusko, a hedge fund manager, also predicted that Bitcoin’s next significant bull run might start in the second quarter of 2023 as the ecosystem starts to collect BTC in anticipation of the subsequent reward halving event.