Bitcoin is ready to tear through its all-time high — and the US government shutdown is the reason why.
Geoffrey Kendrick, head of digital assets strategy at UK-bank Standard Chartered, predicts Bitcoin will print a fresh all-time high next week. Shortly thereafter, the top crypto should surge to $135,000, said Kendrick.
The catalyst? A deepening political crisis in Washington that’s forcing investors to hedge against US government risk while the Federal Reserve mulls over interest rate cuts yet again.
“It is now ready and that Bitcoin will print a fresh all-time-high next week,” Kendrick wrote in a note to investors on Thursday. “The shutdown matters this time.”
Bitcoin currently trades at about $120,500, up 10% in the past week, and sits just 3% below its record price.
Government shutdown
For the 22nd time since 1974, this week the US government had to shutter its doors because it couldn’t find common ground among lawmakers to determine the national budget.
The key difference from past shutdowns, said Kendrick, is Bitcoin’s evolving role as a hedge against US government dysfunction.