Billionaire crypto investor and Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz is betting that by this time next year Bitcoin will be back at its highest levels ever.
Analysts at Bloomberg predict that the first U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF could be approved by Jan. 10, and Novogratz said that could drive billions of dollars into the sector, causing Bitcoin to skyrocket.
“Could we go to old highs by this time next year?” Novogratz said during a Bloomberg TV interview on Wednesday. “Of course.”
Bitcoin has been on a tear since September, shooting up 45%, to about $37,600, as of Wednesday, but the coin is still down from its all-time high of $69,000. Bitcoin reached that peak in November 2021 before falling below $16,000 a year later, according to data compiled by CoinGecko.
Novogratz said making it easier to invest in cryptocurrencies via ETFs will help attract a fresh set of retail investors. Galaxy Digital is working with the investment management company Invesco to introduce a spot Bitcoin ETF.
“Prices are set on the margin, so that’s all new money,” Novogratz said. “We will see a pretty successful shift of psychology when the government says you are allowed to buy Bitcoin.”
The SEC has still not approved a spot Bitcoin ETF in the U.S. and has continually delayed making a decision on several applications. Earlier this year, the agency faced a setback on a lawsuit against crypto asset manager Grayscale regarding its application to create a spot Bitcoin ETF. The regulator chose not to appeal the ruling.
Still, other high-profile leaders in traditional finance and the crypto space have recently renewed their optimism that Bitcoin will have a resurgence.
On Thursday, MicroStrategy founder Michael Saylor wrote in a post on X that the company had purchased an additional $593.3 million worth of Bitcoin at an average price of $36,785. MicroStrategy has now spent more than $5 billion on Bitcoin since 2020.
MicroStrategy has acquired an additional 16,130 BTC for ~$593.3 million at an average price of $36,785 per #bitcoin. As of 11/29/23, @MicroStrategy now hodls 174,530 $BTC acquired for ~$5.28 billion at an average price of $30,252 per bitcoin. $MSTR https://t.co/3XHhpIvsuA
— Michael Saylor⚡️ (@saylor) November 30, 2023
In the traditional financial world, BlackRock’s Larry Fink has also compared Bitcoin to digital gold and called it an “international asset.” His comments pushed the coin to a 14-month high in July.
