Note: The information presented here is for informational purposes only and does not contain investment advice or recommendations. All financial management decisions should be made based on your own analysis and consultations with professionals.
August Forecasts for Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Other Cryptocurrencies
Evgeny Morozov, Co-Founder of VC fund R7Y, predicts that August 2023 will be rather calm month for cryptocurrencies. He points out that in the summer, major players try not to have a strong influence on the market and tend to rest after the last wave of BTC’s growth, which reached current marks above $30,000, having recovered from the fall in November 2022, which dropped to $15,500.
Evgeny’s short-term forecast for popular cryptocurrencies is as follows:
- Bitcoin (BTC): $25,000 — $30,000;
- Ethereum (ETH): $1,500 — $2,000;
- Bitcoin Cash (BCH): $150 — $200;
- Solana (SOL): $50 — $75;
- Cardano (ADA): $0,50 — $0,75;
- Dogecoin (DOGE): $0.05 — $0.10.
“We should expect the current bear market to continue in August, but the rate of decline will slow considerably. The U.S. Fed is expected to continue raising interest rates, and this could put pressure on crypto. However, there are positive factors that might support the crypto market in August, such as the recent court ruling in the SEC’s case against XRP in favor of the latter. Moreover, the market should also be positively affected by the approaching autumn season, which is usually characterized by additional capital inflows and the return of investors,” summarizes Evgeny Morozov.
“One of the key talking points of this summer was the SEC’s attitude to classifying cryptocurrencies. The American regulator considers most coins as digital securities. This primarily concerns coins based on Proof-of-Stake, many of which are native tokens of large blockchain networks, such as Ethereum,” states Vlad Krylov, Chief Editor of Crypto.ru.
The expert notes that the U.S. regulator is heavily pressuring local companies that directly or indirectly contribute to the distribution of PoS-based assets. Exchanges are also under the spotlight and forced to remove these assets from trading. Such actions immediately have a negative impact on their value. For those who are just building their crypto portfolios, it’s better to choose coins based on the Proof-of-Work algorithm. Assets like Bitcoin have a much lower chance of being targeted by the SEC than others.
The situation in the cryptocurrency market is similarly assessed by Dmitry Noskov, Expert at StormGain: “At the moment, the rate of BTC is below the psychological mark of $30,000. On the whole, the crypto market comes under pressure from the aggressive policy of U.S. financial regulators. Particularly, the SEC released a list of digital currencies considered to be securities and also sued the world’s largest crypto exchanges Binance and Coinbase. However, the victory of the FinTech company Ripple over the SEC was a positive factor for the crypto market. The court recognized that XRP couldn’t be treated as a security in a number of cases.
Besides, the fact that the indicators of the American economy are improving is a good signal for crypto investors. Namely, U.S. inflation slowed to 3% per annum by the end of June. This leads market participants to believe that the U.S. Fed will no longer resort to raising the rate. BTC is likely to continue its movement near the $30,000 mark in August, and Ethereum is expected to move above the $1,800 level. Litecoin, halving on August 3, could rise to $95-100.”
Forecast from Bitget’s Managing Director
Gracy Chen, Managing Director of crypto exchange Bitget, shared with CP Media a comprehensive forecast for BTC, ETH, and XRP for August 2023.
BTC Forecast for August 2023
In July, the BTC market was mostly influenced by the news surrounding the Bitcoin ETF, the interim court ruling in the SEC vs. XRP case, and data related to the Fed’s interest rate hike cycle. Over the same period, BTC reached its local high at around $31,800.
More on the main factors that can affect the quotes of BTC in the short term:
- The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission began reviewing applications for launching six spot Bitcoin ETFs, including BlackRock’s application. The review period is set at 45 days but can be extended to 240 days. This process may substantially support the market in August.
- The U.S. court ruling stating that XRP lacks a security status contrasts with the SEC’s previous labeling of SOL, ADA, MATIC, FIL, and other tokens as securities. This could catalyze the market, impacting it in a positive way.
- The Consumer Price Index (CPI) returned to the 3% level, which is an important signal. According to the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, there’s a 99.8% chance of the Fed raising the interest rate by 25 basis points in August. However, uncertainty remains in the market regarding the timing of a rate cut in September. This could lead to significant market fluctuations in August, which will affect the value of the first cryptocurrency.
If BTC stabilizes at $29,000 under the influence of the news at the beginning of the month, August may see a sharp rise in the asset’s value to $33,000-$36,000. If market participants expect a further increase in interest rates and tightening of regulation, there may be a pullback seeking support in the $25,000-$28,000 range. Accordingly, BTC fluctuations may prevail in the market during August.
ETH Forecast for August 2023
ETH staking volume has steadily increased since the Shanghai update on Ethereum, with innovations in DeFi apps and competition in Layer 2 becoming hot topics in the ecosystem. No significant updates on catalysts are expected in Q3, so ETH dynamics will be closely tied to BTC market movement and unlikely to trend independently.
Price movements of ETH will mostly follow the BTC market, and the asset is expected to be quoted in the range of $1,700 to $2,200. If market liquidity rises, ETH can potentially break through the $2,200 mark and climb toward $2,500.
XRP Forecast for August 2023
The big news of this period is the ruling by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on charges brought by the SEC against Ripple Labs. The court recognized that XRP wasn’t a security when sold to retail investors. However, Ripple’s sale of the asset to institutional investors was still found to be unauthorized trading in investment contracts. The decision resulted in XRP showing a large short-term spike of over 100%, peaking at around $0.72.
The SEC officials were partially pleased with the court’s decision and stated they would continue its review and explore the possibility of further appeals due to the case’s unique circumstances. In the long term, the case will continue to evolve.
XRP price movements depend significantly on the news, so it’s important to keep a close eye on whether it can break and consolidate above the previous high at the upper support level. Once it stabilizes, there’s potential for upward momentum to break the previous $1-$1.4 resistance zone. Declining support can be expected around the midpoint of the strong bullish candle from August 13, near $0.63. Without meaningful news occasions, XRP could continue to fluctuate in the $0.63-$0.93 range while waiting for either a BTC rate hike or news that could act as catalysts.
