Finance
Crypto market to double in size to $5 trillion in 2024
Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple, speaks at the 2022 Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., May 4, 2022.
Mike Blake | Reuters
The CEO of blockchain startup Ripple sees the combined market capitalization of the cryptocurrency market topping $5 trillion this year.
Ripple’s Brad Garlinghouse told CNBC that he expects the entire value of the crypto market to double, citing macro factors including the arrival of the first U.S. spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETFs), as well as the upcoming so-called bitcoin “halving.”
“I’ve been around this industry for a long time, and I’ve seen these trends come and go,” Garlinghouse told CNBC. “I’m very optimistic. I think the macro trends, the big picture things like the ETFs, they’re driving for the first time real institutional money.”
“You’re seeing that drives demand, and at the same time demand is increasing, supply is decreasing,” Garlinghouse said. “That doesn’t take an economics major to tell you what happens when supply contracts and demand expands.”
The first U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs were approved on Jan. 10 by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. They trade on U.S. stock exchanges and allow institutions and retail investors to gain exposure to bitcoin without directly owning the underlying asset.
The bitcoin halving is a technical event that takes place roughly every four years in bitcoin’s history. It halves the total mining reward to bitcoin miners, which are volunteers on the bitcoin network that use high-powered computers to verify transactions and mint new tokens.
The last such event took place in 2020, and the next one is slated to happen later this month.
“The overall market cap of the crypto industry … is easily predicted to to double by the end of this year … [as it’s] impacted by all of these macro factors,” Garlinghouse said.
The total crypto market capitalization was roughly $2.6 trillion as of April 4. If the market were to double, that would imply a new total crypto market cap of $5.2 trillion.
Bitcoin has risen more than 140% in the last 12 months.
It hit a record high above $73,000 on March 13, according to CoinGecko data. It has since fallen well below the $70,000 level, however.
The world’s digital currency has been the main token driving gains for the broader market.
Bitcoin accounts for about 49% of the entire crypto market, with a market capitalization of $1.3 trillion as of April 1.
Positive signs on U.S. crypto regulation
One of the other factors that Garlinghouse sees pushing the crypto market to new highs is the possibility of positive regulatory momentum in the United States.
This year being an election year, crypto hopefuls are optimistic that the next administration will be more accommodating to the crypto industry with its policy focus.
The SEC under Chair Gary Gensler has been aggressive in its enforcement on crypto companies, including Ripple itself.
The SEC targeted Ripple with a securities lawsuit alleging it illegally sold XRP, a cryptocurrency Ripple is closely associated with, in unregistered securities deals. Ripple denies the claims and is fighting the suit.
“One of the things actually I’ll say on the macro tailwinds for the industry: I think we will get more clarity in the United States,” Garlinghouse said.
“The U.S. is still the largest economy in the world, and it’s unfortunately been one of the more hostile crypto markets. And I think that’s going to start to change, also.”
Garlinghouse isnt the only crypto bull predicting outsized gains for the crypto market this year.
Marshall Beard, chief operating officer of U.S. crypto exchange Gemini, recently told CNBC at a crypto conference in London that he expects the bitcoin price to rise to $150,000 later this year.
“Everything went up so fast already this year, there’s just a lot of activity, a lot of adoption, new regulation, ETFs, the halving, miners needing to get out,” Beard told CNBC.
“You’re going to see violent moves up and down until that new all-time high, which I think will be $150,000,” Beard added. “It probably happens this year. I think it moves so fast … and I think that momentum, the supply shock, it moves crazy quickly.”
WATCH: Bitcoin serves different purposes for different people, says Anthony Pompliano
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said Wednesday the looming tariffs that President Donald Trump is expected to slap on U.S. trading partners could be viewed positively.
Despite fears that the duties could spark a global trade war and reignite inflation domestically, the head of the largest U.S. bank by assets said they could protect American interests and bring trading partners back to the table for better deals for the country, if used correctly.
“If it’s a little inflationary, but it’s good for national security, so be it. I mean, get over it,” Dimon told CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin during an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos. “National security trumps a little bit more inflation.”
Since taking office Monday, Trump has been saber-rattling on tariffs, threatening Monday to impose levies on Mexico and Canada, then expanding the scope Tuesday to China and the European Union. The president told reporters that the EU is treating the U.S. “very, very badly” due to its large annual trade surplus. The U.S. last year ran a $214 billion deficit with the EU through November 2024.
Among the considerations are a 10% tariff on China and 25% on Canada and Mexico as the U.S. looks forward to a review on the tri-party agreement Trump negotiated during his first term. The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement is up for review in July 2026.
Dimon did not get into the details of Trump’s plans, but said it depends on how the duties are implemented. Trump has indicated the tariffs could take effect Feb. 1.
“I look at tariffs, they’re an economic tool, That’s it,” Dimon said. “They’re an economic weapon, depending on how you use it, why you use it, stuff like that. Tariffs are inflationary and not inflationary.”
Trump leveled broad-based tariffs during his first term, during which inflation ran below 2.5% each year. Despite the looming tariff threat, the U.S. dollar has drifted lower this week.
“Tariffs can change the dollar, but the most important thing is growth,” Dimon said.
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