Experts Predict Bitcoin to Surge to US$80,000 By December

Increasing inflows into crypto-backed exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and a halving of supply next month could push Bitcoin prices above the previous forecast of US$80,000 before the end of the year, according to Binance CEO Richard Teng, who vows to collaborate with a local partner to expand the company’s presence in the Thai market.

While emphasizing that the bullish forecast was his personal opinion, Mr Teng said during a visit to Bangkok that he had previously estimated Bitcoin would end the year at around $80,000, but he now expects it to exceed that level as the launch of spot Bitcoin ETFs in the US in January has attracted institutional investors and new funds into the world’s largest cryptocurrency.

“We’re just getting started,” he said, emphasizing that the rise will not be a “straight line” and that the market will have ups and downs, which is beneficial to the market.

His comments came as the price of Bitcoin slid from an all-time high of $73,750 last week, representing a 56% increase year to date, to roughly $68,000 yesterday, owing primarily to market participants taking profits.

Mr Teng also stated that global bitcoin usage is still in its early stages, around 5-6%.

“The rate of adoption that you will see in the coming five years will be significantly faster than the previous five years. “And when cryptocurrency adoption doubles to 12%, you’ll see a lot more new users,” he told the Bangkok Post.

“If you look at global crypto adoption, Thailand is ranked number ten, which is pretty high. So Thailand is a critical market for us. We invest heavily in this sector and collaborate with our Gulf partner to promote the country’s crypto journey,” he added.

Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by transaction volume, has launched a joint venture with SET-listed Gulf Energy Development to serve as a digital asset exchange and broker.

The Binance TH platform, operated by Gulf Binance, debuted in the Thai market in January.

“Gulf is a very strong partner that we have in Thailand — very well known in the Thai market,” Mr. Teng remarked.

“We bring the expertise in different areas and we are ready to support Thailand’s crypto journey for greater adoption with the strong partner that we have.”

Bitcoin buyers urged to expand knowledge

The rise in cryptocurrency prices this year is likely to lure hackers to digital assets housed in Thailand, where hackers inflicted $24.2 billion (867 billion baht) in damage last year, according to the Thai Digital Asset Association.

Suppakrit Boonsat, the association’s director and the founder of Bitcast, a digital asset education group, stated that cryptocurrency prices had soared this year, luring both investors and scammers to the marketplace.

“Everyone expects the cryptocurrency market to be on a bull run this year, thanks mainly to the launch of spot Bitcoin exchanged-traded funds and the halving of Bitcoin, when coin production is cut by half, which happens every four years,” Mr. Suppakrit said.

Soaring coin prices make them more appealing to hackers since the cost of committing the theft remains constant, but the benefits climb as more individuals enter the market, he explained.

According to Mr Suppakrit, keeping cryptocurrency is generally difficult, which has slowed the growth of Thailand’s crypto sector.

“Many people are accustomed to relying on service providers such as Marketti, because if any damage occurs, those organisations are ready to help recover or reverse transactions,” he went on to say.

“But this does not apply to online financial services in this era, especially for crypto transactions where reversing a transaction is impossible,” Mr. Suppakrit added.

“If an asset is taken, the funds cannot be recovered. The cheapest and most successful strategy is to prevent damage from occurring.”

Another issue is a lack of cryptographic understanding.

“We know the coins are in our wallet. But other people aren’t sure how to show ownership,” he said. “If investors understand proof of ownership, they will know what they really need to protect.”

Mr Suppakrit stated that cryptocurrency is safe since it is stored on the blockchain system, which cannot be hacked. Hackers’ goal is to obtain the private key.

“If a hacker manages to get the private key, he or she can claim to be the owner of the asset and do anything with it,” he added.

Furthermore, investors do not grasp digital asset storage. They do not need to rely on an exchange, which most people associate with storing Bitcoin and other digital assets, because the exchange operator is more skilled than the typical investor, according to Mr Suppakrit.

As technology rapidly advances, many investors are unable to keep up with the procedures in place to protect investments from hackers. He stated that every investor must continually learn, adapt, and refresh their knowledge.

“With better understanding, I believe preserving assets will be easy and they will be safer from hacking,” Mr. Suppakrit added.

To achieve long-term market growth, investors must have knowledge, awareness, and the right technology, he stated.

Bitcast intends to launch new services later this year, including a crypto wallet recovery service for investors, as well as services to assist investors in safely storing their funds, according to Mr Suppakrit.