2023 Predictions From Standard Chartered: Bitcoin $5,000, Gold Soars, And Trouble For Biden

According to Standard Chartered analysts, the present crypto winter might grow even colder.

Eric Robertsen, the bank's Global Head of Research, forecasted numerous possibilities for 2023, including Bitcoin BTC/USD, the world's largest cryptocurrency, falling to as low as $5,000 next year, along with the impeachment of President Joe Biden, among other unexpected shocks.

The forecasts are part of Standard Chartered's annual list of surprises that experts feel markets are ignoring or under-pricing.

Robertsen expects yields to fall along with tech stocks.

“Yields plunge along with technology shares, and while the Bitcoin sell-off decelerates, the damage has been done,” Robertsen wrote in a note to investors Sunday.

According to the analyst, a drop in tech stocks in 2023 might result in a wave of bankruptcies, similar to the wave of crypto firms that defaulted following the collapse of Three Arrows Capital this year, including FTX.

Read also: Struggling Cryptocurrency Lender Genesis Owes Debtors $1.8B

“Perhaps echoing the contraction in the digital assets sector, next-generation technology companies see a surge in bankruptcies in 2023,” the analysts wrote in the note.

The annual list is now in its eighth edition, however it should be emphasized that it is not designed to foresee events with a high probability, but rather to analyze circumstances with a "non-zero chance of happening" that are not yet part of market consensus.

Robertsen also stated that in the surprise situation of crypto crashing, he sees gold skyrocketing - he believes the precious metal can reach $2,250 per ounce (currently $1,778.20). This may also be bullish for the VanEck Gold Miners ETF GDX, and gold miners like Newmont Corp NEM and Barrick Gold Corp GOLD.

Finally, analysts predict a drop in food costs, which have risen by 10.9% year-on-year, according to the most recent statistics from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Now Read: Trump's Surprise Christmas Present to Joe Biden is Still Moving Markets