The CEO of Ripple, a blockchain startup, Brad Garlinghouse, has foreseen that the collective market worth of digital currencies will surpass $5 trillion by the culmination of 2024. During an interview with CNBC, Garlinghouse underscored several crucial elements that are poised to propel this surge.
Garlinghouse highlighted the importance of recent progressions in the crypto realm, including the green light on the maiden U.S. spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). These ETFs enable both institutional and individual investors to trade bitcoin without direct ownership, potentially luring substantial institutional investments.
Moreover, Garlinghouse referenced the forthcoming bitcoin “halving,” a cyclical occurrence that unfolds approximately every four years and diminishes the rewards for bitcoin miners. This occurrence, coupled with escalating demand and dwindling supply, is prognosticated to fuel the expansion of the cryptocurrency market.
The chief executive exuded confidence in the likelihood of more favorable regulatory frameworks in the United States, especially in an election year. Garlinghouse opines that enhanced regulatory conditions could buttress the ongoing advancement of the crypto domain.
As of April 4, the collective market cap of digital currencies stands at roughly $2.6 trillion, with bitcoin accounting for around 49% of the market portion. Garlinghouse’s prognosis hints at a twofold market growth, aiming to hit a total market cap of $5.2 trillion by the termination of 2024.
Garlinghouse’s viewpoint resonates with that of other industry pundits, such as Marshall Beard, the Chief Operating Officer of Gemini, a U.S.-based crypto exchange. Beard also envisions substantial expansion in the digital currency market, projecting that the value of bitcoin could soar to $150,000 later in 2024, driven by factors like adoption, fresh regulations, ETFs, and the bitcoin halving event.
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