Analyst: Bitcoin price will reach $800 by the end of the year, 'currency war' will be the driving factor

Having surged more than 75 percent so far this year, bitcoin could end 2016 at a new all-time high, according to a CoinDesk poll of a panel of experts.

A strong year for Bitcoin

Starting at just $430 at the beginning of 2016, the world’s largest and most famous digital currency has achieved remarkable results so far, from $500 in May, then $600 and $700 in June, according to the Coindesk Bitcoin Dollar Price Index.

On June 18, the price of Bitcoin hit a record high of $781.31 in 2016, but then began to fall. By the end of November, the price of Bitcoin was around $740.

Since mid-November, the price of bitcoin has been fluctuating between $700 and $800. Most analysts surveyed by CoinDesk believe that bitcoin is more likely to end 2016 at around $800.

Bitcoin Bull Bet

Petar Zivkovski, head of operations at leveraged Bitcoin trading platform Whaleclub, predicts that the Bitcoin price will be between '$750-$780' in the last days of 2016, and emphasizes that the Bitcoin market will see bullish developments.

“We are already seeing healthy new inflows into the market, which will support the price of Bitcoin.”

Zivkovski stressed that it has been a while since ‘there has been a negative/bearish event’ in the Bitcoin market that would ‘trigger an aggressive sell-off.’

“Barring an unexpected bearish event, Bitcoin prices will remain in this range.”

Magnr founder Joe Lee also predicted that the price of Bitcoin will approach $800 in the last few days of the year.

He told CoinDesk:

“Demand for Bitcoin has been rising in the second half of 2016, driven by macroeconomic uncertainty. As a non-correlated asset class, Bitcoin is proving itself to stand the test of time. As a technology, Bitcoin is maturing through continued adoption.”

BTCC CEO Li Qiyuan also gave an optimistic assessment of Bitcoin, telling Coindesk:

“From a fundamental and technical perspective, we are very pleased with the momentum Bitcoin is currently experiencing.”

He also mentioned the stability of Bitcoin’s price so far.

“Given the stability of bitcoin prices over the past few months, I expect that by the end of 2016, the price will be below $800.”

However, he added, 'There may be a small price rebound towards the end of the year.'

Market bullish

Speculation could be one of the factors behind a year-end rebound in Bitcoin prices.

Traders have been generally bullish on bitcoin so far this year, with prices up 73 percent in the first 11 months of 2016, according to Whaleclub data.

Ryan Rabaglia, chief trader at Octagon Strategies Ltd., said:

“We have been bullish on Bitcoin for a long time and will continue to be bullish. There have been many factors that have caused Bitcoin to rise and fall in the past two months. We think the price of Bitcoin will end the year between $790 and $810.”

'Currency wars'

Kong Gao, overseas market manager of Bitcoin trader Richfund, stressed that countries are working hard to operate their own currencies, and "the currency war is on the verge of starting." Coupled with the second interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve in 10 years, the market is wailing, but this can bring benefits to Bitcoin.

While China has clearly taken steps to control the depreciation of its currency, it is not the only country taking steps to strengthen or weaken its currency.

Gao told CoinDesk that because of this situation, "we predict that the price of bitcoin will rise to about $900."

Arthur Hayes, co-founder and CEO of BitMEX, is even more optimistic, predicting that the price of Bitcoin could go even higher by the end of 2016. If the digital currency can break through $800, the next barrier would be $1,000.

Hayes predicts that by the end of 2016, Bitcoin will hit 'this big number.'