Goldman Sachs Analyst: Bitcoin Could Hypothetically Claim 50% of SoV Market in Five Years

Goldman Sachs analyst and co-head of global foreign exchange strategy Zach Pandl revealed his outlook for Bitcoin (BTC) in a research note distributed to clients on January 4.

The analyst asserted that the benchmark cryptocurrency would likely continue to chip away market share from gold (XAU) in 2022 as cryptocurrency gains more widespread adoption. The research detailed that:

“Bitcoin may have applications beyond simply a ‘store of value’ — and digital asset markets are much bigger than Bitcoin.”

Pandl noted that Bitcoin’s float-adjusted market capitalization currently coasts under $700 billion and that the primary cryptocurrency accounts for 20% of the entire “store of value” market, which consists of Bitcoin and gold. The research note detailed that the SoV market currently holds a valuation of about $2.6 trillion.

Goldman Sachs Bullish on Bitcoin Medium-Term Prospects

The note also included a series of predictions for 2022, including Goldman Sachs asserting that BTC would “most likely” become a more robust asset over time. Pandl noted that if Bitcoin’s share in the store of value market “hypothetically” increased by 50% over the next five years, the asset’s price would rise to over $100,000. The analyst added that:

“We think that comparing its market capitalization to gold can help put parameters on plausible outcomes for bitcoin returns.”

Additionally, Pandl highlighted that despite having a slightly unattractive energy consumption status to institutional investors, Bitcoin would continue to attract significant demand.

Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs relaunched its cryptocurrency trading desk late last year. In June 2021, the behemoth financial institution expanded its crypto offerings package to include Ethereum futures and options.

In other news, the crypto market currently battles an intense bearish market sentiment, as we see renewed sell-offs across the market, dragging the crypto industry valuation down by about 10% in the past few days.