44% of institutional asset managers think Bitcoin will drop below $30,000 by the end of 2021

A recent poll conducted by CNBC revealed that institutional asset managers are not confident in the short-term future of Bitcoin, with 44 percent of the respondents predicting that Bitcoin could close the year at less than $30,000.

CNBC’s Quarterly Survey confirms the growing bearish sentiment from institutional portfolio managers and equity strategists. According to show host Andrew Ross Sorkin, a significant percentage of fund managers believe that the flagship cryptocurrency might trade sideways for the remainder of the year, and will possibly sink lower before the year runs out.

25 percent of those polled think that Bitcoin will reclaim the $40,000 benchmark by the end of the year. Meanwhile, another 25 percent are confident that Bitcoin could hit $50,000. Only 6 percent of the respondents believe that the digital asset will close the year at $60,000.

Sorkin himself thinks that Bitcoin will drop below $30,000 by the end of the year.

Judging by the survey, it appears investors have been overtaken by bearish sentiments. It is rather ironic that Bitcoin was almost $65,000only a few months ago, with super bullish predictions that it could hit $100,000 by the end of the year.

The Bitcoin rollercoaster

The first half of 2021 has been quite eventful for Bitcoin. In April of this year, spirits were high as the world’s largest crypto kept setting new highs from previous months. It rallied to an all-time high of almost $65,000 following the stimulus package of President Biden’s administration. Before, this Elon Musk’s tweets about Tesla accepting Bitcoin also fuelled a major rally in March.

However, in mid-May, the same Elon Musk forced the price of Bitcoin down after announcing that Tesla was no longer going to accept Bitcoin due to its large carbon footprint from mining operations.

While the Musk saga was still on, China sent the entire crypto market into another round of frenzy. The country’s Financial Stability and Development Committee (FSDC) made a comment during its 51^st meeting suggesting that it would be clamping down on Bitcoin mining and trading. The threat has been largely followed with actions as several Chinese provinces have ordered miners to shut down their operations. A handful of major mining companies are now relocating to friendlier countries, such as Canada and Kazakhstan.