$146K Bitcoin? JP Morgan Raises Its Price Target For 'Digital Gold' Crypto

Global investment bank JP Morgan has renewed its price target for Bitcoin to $146,000 in the long term, given the market volatility subsides and institutions start considering it as “digital gold”. This would approximately be a 124% jump from bitcoin’s price at the time of writing, which is $65,446.

JP Morgan strategist Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou was quoted by Business Insider as saying that the re-emergence of inflation concerns among investors during the last two months was one of the top reasons for renewed interest in bitcoin.

"Bitcoin's allure as an inflation hedge has perhaps been strengthened by the failure of gold to respond in recent weeks to heightened concerns over inflation," he was quoted as saying.

The analyst further pointed out that millennials are likely to prefer bitcoin to gold investment.

However, JPMorgan said that the surge to $146,000 would only come true if the token’s high volatility falls sharply—which it said is currently four to five times higher than gold.

The bank pointed out that the reputation of Bitcoin took a blow around April and May as its price fell over 31% when People’s Bank of China announced that it won’t accept digital tokens as a form of payment anymore.

Indeed, the global bank reckoned that volatility is such a problem that bitcoin's fair price is actually around $35,000 at the moment. However, the bank still seems positive that a price of $73,000 looks reasonable for next year.

JPMorgan's global markets strategists appear bullish about crypto, calling digital assets “a clear winner” post the pandemic.

However, it cannot be ignored that experts are continuously warning investors to be careful while making decisions when it comes to digital currencies. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in September issued an alert for investors that read: “Fraudsters continue to exploit the rising popularity of digital assets to lure retail investors into scams, often leading to devastating losses."