Bitcoin’s next stop will take it above $25,000 as it extends record rally, MKM

Bitcoin broke through record highs, clearing a major milestone above $20,000 to trade above $22,000 on Thursday.

That’s just the latest move after a massive year for bitcoin – it has risen 190% as institutional investors warm up to the cryptocurrency trade.

JC O’Hara, chief market technician at MKM Partners, called the record rally at the beginning of November. Now, he sees a breakout that’s only in the early innings.

“Two months ago, we saw the initial stages of uptrends forming within bitcoin, and I do believe that we’re still in the infancy stages of these new trends developing, so yes, we’re at all-time highs for bitcoin, passing $20,000 today, but I think there’s plenty of room to run,” O’Hara told CNBC’s “Trading Nation” on Wednesday.

O’Hara said the technical setup is similar to the beginning of the last multiyear rally in bitcoin, a promising pattern that points to more upside this time, too.

“If you look back at the last time we started new stages of uptrends forming, it was back in 2015. Bitcoin was $200 a coin back then, and it appreciated over 8,000%, got up to the high $19,000s. So we believe that these trends will persist into the future. Now, I think conservatively, we see … upside to $25,000. I think that’s a good aiming point especially based off of what it has done and what it potentially could do here,” said O’Hara.

Steve Chiavarone, portfolio manager at Federated Hermes, said bitcoin’s success has a far-reaching impact beyond the underlying asset.

“From our perspective, it’s really, really exciting. It’s not necessarily bitcoin itself, but the blockchain technology that sits underneath. We think that this is going to emerge as a driver of the digital revolution alongside AI and robotics and 5G and advanced biotech, and we think it’s going to enable a whole range of transactions, financial and nonfinancial, to be done in a more efficient way, cheaper and more secure,” Chiavarone said during the same “Trading Nation” segment.

He envisions applications in industries ranging from “banks to health care to shipping.”

“Bitcoin is exciting and being over $20,000, I get that, but the underlying blockchain technology we think is going to have the bigger impact across the investment spectrum over time,” said Chiavarone.

Bitcoin has rallied more than 400% since its March lows.  

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