Bitcoin (BTC), the world's largest cryptocurrency, is expected to hit new highs by the end of the year regardless of who wins the U.S. election in November, Standard Chartered Bank (STAN) said in a report resuming coverage of the sector on Thursday. The bank said the outcome of the U.S. presidential election is important for digital assets, but not as important as when Biden is the Democratic candidate and less important than the market expects.
According to the report, no matter who wins the election, Bitcoin is expected to hit a record high by the end of the year. If Trump wins, the price of Bitcoin may explode to about $125,000, and if Kamala Harris wins, the price of Bitcoin may reach about $75,000.
"Regulatory progress - especially the repeal of SAB 121, which imposes strict accounting rules on banks' digital asset holdings - will continue until 2025 regardless of who enters the White House," wrote Geoff Kendrick, global head of digital asset research at Standard Chartered Bank. He added that progress will take longer under Harris' presidency.
The re-steepening of the U.S. Treasury yield curve is also “building positive momentum” for Bitcoin, the report noted.
If Harris wins, Bitcoin may initially sell off, but Kendrick expects any dips to be bought as investors recognize that regulatory progress will still be made (albeit at a slower pace) and other positive catalysts will take hold.
Trump is more crypto-positive
Bitcoin (BTC) is expected to hit new highs later this year if Donald Trump wins the U.S. election in November, and the cryptocurrency could reach $90,000 by the fourth quarter, broker Bernstein said in a research note on Monday.
If Kamala Harris wins the election, the largest cryptocurrency by market value is expected to break out of its current bottom of around $60,000, the report said.
The broker noted that Trump has been vocal about making the United States the "Bitcoin and cryptocurrency capital of the world" and has mentioned digital assets in every policy speech.
Trump spoke at the Bitcoin Nashville Conference in July, calling on the United States to become a Bitcoin mining powerhouse, appoint a crypto-friendly Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chairman, and establish a national strategic Bitcoin reserve and a presidential cryptocurrency advisory committee.
In contrast, the report noted that Harris did not mention cryptocurrencies in any of her speeches.
Bernstein said that over the past three years, the cryptocurrency market has faced two major headwinds, namely macro headwinds and regulatory headwinds.
Analysts led by Gautam Chhugani wrote: "After three years of regulatory cleanup, positive crypto regulatory policies can stimulate innovation again and bring users back to financial products on the blockchain."
The report added: "The election results are still difficult to predict, but if you hold a long position in cryptocurrency here, you are likely to make a Trump trade."
According to previous articles, since the current President Biden withdrew from this year's election, Trump's leading momentum in the forecast has been overtaken by Harris.
Recently, the campaign team of Democratic candidate Harris said that in more than a month since Harris began her presidential campaign, a total of $540 million has been raised, including $82 million during the Democratic National Convention.
Harris' campaign manager believes this shows the Democratic Party's enthusiasm for her candidacy. According to the Financial Times, Harris raised $204 million in July, four times that of Trump. As of the end of July, Harris' campaign team had $220 million in cash, while Trump's campaign team had $151 million in cash.
According to public reports, Trump has participated in far fewer campaign rallies so far than in 2016 and 2020, especially after the shooting.
Trump's donors and friends have questioned some election decisions, worrying that Trump is "disorganized" and lacks a campaign platform and a strong campaign action. However, Trump's campaign said they are ready for the final sprint in November.