Bitcoin ETF approval could take BTC ‘as high as $180k’: Analyst

• Hedge fund founder Tom Lee opined that BTC would cross its ATH shortly after the ETF approval.
• Another big player in the market predicted a surge in liquidity.

The anticipation surrounding a potential Bitcoin [BTC] spot Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) approval has been a major topic of discussion within the cryptocurrency community lately. For many investors, regulatory acceptance would impact the BTC price positively. 

Read Bitcoin’s [BTC] Price Prediction 2023-2024

However, a few skeptics do not believe that a go-ahead by a centralized entity would do anything great for the price action. One notable individual that has commented on the matter is Tom Lee.

$150,000 or nothing

Lee, who has been repeatedly bullish on BTC, said he was not surprised that August has been a weak month for the coin. In his interview with CNBC, he based his opinion on BTC’s historical performance. He noted that historically, a strong July for BTC equals an unimpressive August.

On the ETF application, the founder of Fundstrat Global Advisors, a market research firm, said,

“If the Bitcoin spot ETF gets approved, I think the demand would outweigh the daily supply. And the clear price could be as high as $150,000 or $180,000.”

But Lee also clarified that the spot ETF has to be approved in the U.S. for the price to hit that high. Although on 14 August, CNBC reported that the U.S. SEC has delayed the approvals of ARKInvest and 21Shares.

Also, the regulatory agency pushed the deadline to early 2024. However, AMBCrypto had a short conversation with Ruslan Lienkha on the matter. 

More ETFs, more liquidity

Lienkha, who is the Chief Markets Officer at YouHolder, opined that the ETF approval could trigger a global adoption of crypto assets. He also mentioned that more firms would want a share of the market.

Furthermore, Lienkha admitted that Jacobi’s ETF approval in Europe did not have a significant impact on BTC. But it is not enough reason to assume that approval in the U.S. would not lead to an uptrend.

In explaining this, Lienkha used the BTC regional Year-on-Year (YoY) supply as a rationale for the opinion. From the chart shared below, decisions from the U.S. and Asia have had more impact on BTC as Europe was still a neutral ground.

Source: Glassnode

How much are 1,10,100 BTCs worth today?

In conclusion, Lienkha said that a Bitcoin spot ETF approval in the U.S. would bring in more liquidity for the market and encourage diversification. He said, 

“Basically, more ETFs will bring more liquidity to the crypto market and will stimulate market growth. Also, crypto will be better integrated into the financial system.”

Meanwhile, the U.S. SEC may still approve the Bitcoin spot ETFs this year considering recent developments. Lately, Coinbase disclosed that the CTFC approved its application for a Bitcoin and Ethereum [ETH] futures ETF. Therefore, all hope may not be lost for the former.