Experts Predict: Will Bitcoin (BTC) Hit $40,000 or Plummet to $26,000?

As the crypto market anticipates another crucial rate hike decision from the U.S. Federal Reserve amid a brewing banking crisis and debt ceiling concerns, Bitcoin and Ethereum continue to gain momentum. The Federal Reserve is expected to raise rates by 25 basis points after the monetary policy meeting on Wednesday, increasing borrowing rates to between 5% and 5.25%.

Hawkish Pause Could Impact Crypto Market

Former Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President, Robert Kaplan, suggests that the U.S. Federal Reserve should consider a “hawkish pause” in its aggressive rate hike campaign while maintaining a tightening stance. Kaplan warns that the banking crisis might just be beginning as shares of U.S. regional lenders fell sharply on Tuesday. 

JPMorgan’s chief market strategist, Tai Hui, agrees that the economy is gradually slowing down and recommends a 25 basis points rate hike followed by a pause. He cites the Reserve Bank of Australia’s rate hike yesterday after pausing last month and predicts rate cuts later this year, with the Fed aiming to bring inflation to its target rate by 2024.

Long-term Investment Perspective on Bitcoin

Crypto analyst Miles Deutscher emphasizes a long-term investment perspective on Bitcoin, comparing it to gold and viewing it as a “long-term bet on the debasement of fiat for myself and future generations.” While Deutscher uses a portion of his Bitcoin for trading in and out of altcoins versus Bitcoin pairs, he keeps most of his Bitcoin in long-term cold storage.

Bitcoin’s Potential Path to $40,000

Pseudonymous crypto strategist Kaleo believes Bitcoin could first experience a sell-off event before rallying toward $40,000. According to Kaleo, Bitcoin is likely to retest support around $25,000 before resuming its bullish trend. 

Analyzing lower timeframes, Kaleo observes that Bitcoin has already broken the diagonal support that allowed it to rally from approximately $19,000 in March to over $30,000 last month. “Support broke, low timeframe structure looks weak. Lower before higher makes sense,” he says.

Crypto analyst Michale van de Poppe also weighs in on Bitcoin’s trajectory, stating that the uptrend is not finished yet and the top could be between $38,000 and $42,000. He expects altcoins to gain strength once there is confidence in the market, likely in 1-2 months from now after Bitcoin breaks the $30,000 mark. At the time of writing, Bitcoin is valued at $28,195.