Former White House Director: Three Reasons Why Bitcoin Will Rise

Author: Mlixy; Source: W3C DAO

Anthony Scaramucci said that despite the sharp sell-off in cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin is still expected to nearly double from current levels this year.

Scaramucci, a former White House press director, founder of Skyridge Capital and a long-time cryptocurrency bull, said he believes that Bitcoin will face many positive factors in the future.

Scaramucci told CNBC in an interview on Monday that despite a 17% drop in the past month, Bitcoin is still expected to eventually reach $170,000 and may break the $100,000 mark by the end of the year.

"Long-term, we remain bullish on Bitcoin's fundamentals," he added, noting three positive catalysts for the cryptocurrency.

1. More Bitcoin flows back to investors

Scaramucci said Bitcoin investors could be on the receiving end of a wave of crypto payments -- and they could plow a large portion of it back into the market.

Mount Gox, the cryptocurrency exchange that collapsed a decade ago, has begun repaying the $9 billion it owes creditors and customers, the company said in a statement last week.

FTX, the cryptocurrency exchange that collapsed in 2022 and disrupted the digital asset market, also plans to repay most of its depositors in full. Lawyers for the exchange said this could return up to $16 billion in cryptocurrency to investors.

Scaramucci estimated that based on the loyalty of many "hardcore" early Bitcoin investors, about 40%-50% of the payout could end up being reinvested in cryptocurrencies.

He said of FTX customer deposits: "A lot of it is Bitcoin that was frozen in bankruptcy, and unfortunately that money was dollarized, and the amount of Bitcoin was low at the time, but it will soon return to those account holders, and we think a lot of it will flow back into the asset."

2. Bitcoin is becoming more mainstream

Lawmakers have introduced a bill to create a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies. Scaramucci said this is a promising sign that Bitcoin is becoming a more widely accepted way to store value, which is good for its long-term development.

“The protection of digital assets, and bitcoin in particular, in the Republican platform is very compelling,” he added. “To me, I think it’s an overwhelming conclusion that bitcoin is going to be an acceptable long-term asset class in the United States.”

3. Selling pressure will eventually fade

Scaramucci said the bitcoin price decline was partly due to temporary selling pressure.

For example, he noted that the bitcoin halving event increased selling pressure from miners trying to maintain profits, while the Mount Gox payback also increased selling pressure from investors who regained their cryptocurrency investments.

In 2024, German law enforcement seized about $2.2 billion worth of Bitcoin from a movie piracy site, and the German government has also sold hundreds of millions of dollars worth of cryptocurrency since then. According to blockchain analysis website Arkhan Intelligence, the government sent another $155 million worth of Bitcoin to various cryptocurrency exchanges and market makers on Monday.

However, Scaramucci said that these selling pressures may weaken. This is in line with the views of other cryptocurrency forecasters, who predict that cryptocurrencies will recover from the downturn in the coming months as sellers exit.