Geopolitical risks stemming from the ongoing conflict in the Middle East are expected to put downward pressure on Bitcoin (BTC), potentially pushing its price below the $60,000 mark by the weekend, according to comments from investment bank Standard Chartered on Thursday.
Despite this short-term volatility, the bank suggests that any dips in price should be viewed as buying opportunities.
In a recent report, Standard Chartered emphasized that Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, should not be considered a safe haven against geopolitical risks. Instead, the bank identifies gold as the traditional geopolitical hedge.
“Gold remains the go-to hedge for geopolitical uncertainty,” said Geoff Kendrick, global head of digital assets research at Standard Chartered. “Bitcoin, on the other hand, serves as a hedge against issues within traditional finance, such as bank failures or concerns around de-dollarization and U.S. Treasury instability.”
The report also pointed out that while geopolitical factors have been putting downward pressure on Bitcoin’s price, these tensions have simultaneously increased former President Donald Trump’s chances of winning the upcoming U.S. election in November—an event that could improve Bitcoin’s post-election prospects.
Adding to this sentiment, data from the options market indicates rising optimism, with open interest for Bitcoin’s December expiry at 80,000 having surged recently.
Bitget Research mirrored this positive outlook, noting that institutional investors continue to acquire Bitcoin, despite the overall market downturn. “We’re seeing institutional players purchasing digital currencies at rates equal to or exceeding the amount mined daily,” commented Ryan Lee, chief analyst at Bitget Research.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin was trading around $60,500, down approximately 0.4% on the day, while the broader cryptocurrency market index, CoinDesk 20 (CD20), had dropped by 5.5%.
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