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- Justin Bennett predicts Bitcoin could surge to $103,000 due to a potential short squeeze, even with rising U.S. inflation that would normally decrease Bitcoin’s value.
- Retail investors remain committed to Bitcoin, with only a 2% decline in activity over the past month, indicating strong ongoing interest in the digital asset despite PPI and CPI reports.
Bitcoin’s price has been hovering around $97,00, leaving analysts and investors speculating whether it can break through the $103,000 mark. Traditionally, U.S. inflation data, such as the Producer Price Index (PPI) and Consumer Price Index (CPI), has been a key focus for market watchers when assessing Bitcoin’s potential. However, retail investors seem to be shifting their focus beyond these metrics, looking at a broader set of factors driving Bitcoin’s price momentum.
Recent data suggests that retail activity has been more resilient than anticipated, with only a 2% decline in activity over the past 30 days, a marked improvement compared to the 20% drop seen in January. This indicates a steady confidence from retail investors despite economic pressures.
This week, Jerome Powell, Chairman of the Federal Reserve, reiterated that quantitative easing is unlikely in the near future. Then, inflation data revealed that prices rose by 3%, followed by a higher-than-expected PPI that raised concerns about persistent inflation. Bitcoin saw a brief pullback, dipping below the $95,000 mark after the release of January’s CPI report.
In an X post, Cryptocurrency analyst Justin Bennett stated that a short squeeze could drive BTC’s price up in the near term. He added that while the price action may seem unremarkable, there’s a significant chance that it could end in a short squeeze, propelling Bitcoin quickly toward the $103K level, where it will face the next major resistance.
Lol what? The last big call I made was talking about shorts from 105k in January with a 91,800 target, which we reached earlier this month.
Now I'm saying we could get a short squeeze. It's a range until proven otherwise. It's not rocket science.
Imagine not changing your… pic.twitter.com/wW1EITNoiq
— Justin Bennett (@JustinBennettFX) February 13, 2025
Institutions and States Bet Big on Bitcoin
Bitcoin’s growing appeal extends beyond retail investors, with institutions and U.S. states beginning to show more interest in the cryptocurrency.GameStop, a video game retailer famous for its wild meme stock history, now considering the addition of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to its balance sheet.
Furthermore, a recent VanEck study revealed that U.S. states could collectively invest up to $23 billion in Bitcoin if proposed Bitcoin reserve bills gain traction. As we reported, Matthew Sigel, head of digital assets research at VanEck led the research and suggested that these states could acquire around 247,000 BTC, surpassing the U.S. government’s current holdings of 198,109 BTC.
The study underscores legislative initiatives in 17 states seeking to designate Bitcoin as a reserve asset. States such as Utah, Texas, Oklahoma, Ohio, and Illinois have advanced their Bitcoin reserve bills to committee hearings, with Utah achieving a favorable vote, representing a key milestone in the process.
As interest from both retail investors and institutions grows, recent data from Bitwise indicates that individuals still hold 69.4% of Bitcoin in circulation. This shows that despite institutional interest, retail participation remains strong, further driving the cryptocurrency’s upward momentum. At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at $97,303, reflecting a 0.27% increase in the past day after a 1% decline over the last week.
