Huge $600 Billion 2023 Bitcoin Price Prediction Comes With An Ethereum Upgrade Bet And A Shock Ripple XRP Warning

Bitcoin
BTC
, ethereum and other big cryptocurrencies have swung wildly this week as fears haunt the market following the shock collapse of a major exchange.

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The bitcoin price has crashed by around 70% since hitting an all-time high of almost $70,000 per bitcoin late last year while ethereum has seen a similar decline. Ripple’s XRP
XRP
, which has come under sustained price pressure due to a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) lawsuit alleging XRP is an unregistered security.

Now, as leaks reveal crypto CEOs are braced for a $65 billion earthquake, a fund manager at investment giant VanEck has predicted the bitcoin price could rally to around $30,000 per bitcoin next year—potentially doubling bitcoin’s current market capitalization to $600 billion—and forecasted ethereum and Ripple’s XRP developments.

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“Bitcoin will test $10,000-$12,000 in [the first quarter of 2023] amid a wave of miner bankruptcies, which will mark the low point of the crypto winter,” wrote Matthew Sigel, head of digital assets research at VanEck, while others fear the bitcoin price could crash to even lower levels next year.

However, the bitcoin price is then predicted to surge to back as “lower inflation, easing energy concerns, a possible truce in Ukraine, and a turnaround in M2 supply” will kick start a fresh bull market.

“Should our recession expectations materialize, the Federal Reserve would likely pause raising rates amidst softening inflation while money printing and government budget deficits continue,” Sigel wrote. “Merely a lack of bad crypto-specific news, under the above scenario, could cause the price of bitcoin to climb a wall of worry back to $30,000 again.”

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Elsewhere, Sigel’s 2023 bitcoin price prediction includes Ripple losing the lawsuit brought against its XRP by the SEC and ethereum
ETH
enabling staking withdrawals from the Beacon Chain following its major upgrade earlier this year.

The price of Ripple’s XRP has climbed this year after the long-running SEC lawsuit has dragged on. Ripple was sued by SEC for allegedly misleading XRP investors in early 2021 but expectations have risen recently that Ripple will come out on top.

Sigel pointed to the SEC’s victory over blockchain-based publishing company LBRY in November as evidence the judge will side with the regulator.

“With this case as precedent, we have lowered our probability of a Ripple victory materially,” Sigel wrote.