According to the data shared by Goldman Sachs, Bitcoin has gained as much as 51% in year-to-date absolute returns.
With Bitcoin (BTC) reaching highs it hasn’t seen for a long time, many believe that there is still a lot of space for growth and hitting the maximum potential price. On Friday, Bitcoin hit $27K for the first time since June last year. The currency’s price climbed to $27,028, marking a 6.5% increase in 24 hours. As of the press moment, Bitcoin is trading at $27,511.64, with a market cap of as much as $531,691,258,102. Year-to-date, it is 65.81% up. As a result of this spike, the world’s leading investment banking and securities company the Goldman Sachs Group, Inc (NYSE: GS) has ranked Bitcoin as the best-performing asset this year.
Goldman Sachs out highlighting #bitcoin as the best performing asset year-to-date. pic.twitter.com/I0qoELfIMs
— ◢ J◎e McCann 🧊 (@joemccann) March 19, 2023
According to the data shared by Goldman Sachs, Bitcoin has gained as much as 51% in year-to-date absolute returns. It surpassed sectors of information technology by 16% and communication services by 15%, outpaced consumer discretionary by 11%, and left behind Russell 1000 Growth (10%), gold (4%), and the S&P 500 (4%). Besides, Bitcoin has outperformed its cryptocurrency pairs and those major financial institutions of the traditional market with a risk-adjusted return (Sharpe ratio) of 1.9.
With its latest price surge, the predicted price range Bitcoin can reach is varying. For example, Capriole CEO Charles Edwards believes that Bitcoin is on a “bump & run reversal,” which gives it an opportunity to hit $100K. Messari CEO Ryan Selkis also sees the potential for Bitcoin to touch a $100K price target within the next 12 months. Anthony Scaramucci, the founder of SkyBridge Capital, called 2023 a “recovery year” for Bitcoin, saying it could trade at $50,000 to $100,000 in two to three years.
Meanwhile, there are also those who are sceptical about Bitcoin’s price surge. For instance, Matthew Sigel, head of digital assets research at VanEck, expects Bitcoin to drop to $12,000 levels, citing higher energy prices. Moreover, global bank Standard Chartered predicted that Bitcoin could fall to $5,000 levels in 2023.
Why Is Bitcoin Rallying?
In 2022, Bitcoin fell by 65% following a number of major collapses of projects and hedge funds, bankruptcies, liquidity issues, and the failure of the FTX exchange. However, so far in 2023, Bitcoin is already more than 50% up. Among the factors that could influence the price of Bitcoin are market sentiment, regulatory actions, and adoption rates. Bitcoin’s price could be affected by a variety of events, including political developments, macroeconomic trends, and the performance of other cryptocurrencies. But the key reason behind the currency’s bounce is investors’ belief in its future.
The US banking system is now facing a crisis. The six largest US banks – JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM), Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC), Citigroup (NYSE: C), Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS), and Goldman Sachs – have lost nearly $100 billion in market valuation since the beginning of 2023. And in this situation, Bitcoin is an asset that gives better chances at building significant wealth than banks.
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