Bitcoin Price Prediction – Forbes Advisor Australia

Investing in bitcoin comes with its share of rewards and risks, and understanding these is key to making an informed decision. As Sciberras puts it: “Investing in bitcoin isn’t a straightforward ‘yes’ or ‘no’. It depends on many factors, including the global economic climate, regulatory landscape, technological developments and your own personal situation.”

In scenarios where there is large-scale money printing or loosening of monetary policy by the US and other nations, bitcoin could fare well. Sciberras explains: “bitcoin was created as an alternative to the current system during the 2008 GFC. If we return to these conditions, bitcoin could perform well in such an environment.”

Bitcoin’s halving, a preprogrammed event that decreases the reward for mining new blocks, could potentially drive prices higher, as it has done in previous cycles. With the next halving fast approaching in April 2024, there is a significant catalyst for positive price action which investors should be aware of. “If bitcoin follows a similar trend to past market cycles, the upcoming halving could drive prices higher as the market adjusts to the new decreased block reward,” says Sciberras. 

The continued development of scalability solutions such as the lightning network could also boost bitcoin’s value. Sciberras believes that “if we see businesses creating Lightning Network or Bitcoin-focused products, we could see an expansion of its use as payment, increasing adoption and possibly price.”

However, bitcoin’s future isn’t without potential hurdles. “If bitcoin continues to be (targeted) by governments and its energy consumption is further politicised, then it could put pressure on bitcoin’s long-term sustainability,” warns Sciberras.

One of the significant long-term concerns for bitcoin is its security in the face of a decreasing block reward. “If there is lacklustre adoption and demand for Bitcoin or fee revenue is inadequate to incentivise miners to upgrade their hardware and mine new (less) bitcoins, security could decrease and threaten the network.” While this is unlikely to be an issue in the next decade, it does remain an unanswered question for Bitcoin’s future in the long term.”

Sciberras reminds us of an often overlooked possibility: “Bitcoin can go to zero, just like any innovation surpassed by a newer incumbent or a combination of the above, reducing trust, accessibility, or demand for bitcoin.”