Bitcoin Price Drifts, XRP Gains. BTC Could Hit $1 Million, Cantor Analysts Say. — Barrons.com

Adam Clark and Elsa Ohlen

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies were mixed to start the week as a U.S.-European Union trade deal settled nerves around global economic uncertainty. However, analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald are predicting Bitcoin could go as high as $1 million in the future.

The price of Bitcoin was broadly flat over the past 24 hours to $118,383, according to CoinDesk data.

Shares of MicroStrategy, the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, were up 1.1% in early trading at $410.53. Analysts at Cantor raised their price target on the stock to $680 from $614 in a research note on Monday, and reiterated an Overweight rating, estimating the company will be able to spend $20 billion a year on Bitcoin purchases.

"If BTC is going to $1m, which we think is highly likely at some point in the future, MicroStrategy could be one of the largest companies in the world," wrote Cantor analyst Brett Knoblauch in a research note.

It's an eye-catching prediction, although not unprecedented. ARK Investment Management CEO Cathie Wood has previously predicted Bitcoin could hit $1.5 million.

Cantor is highly involved in Bitcoin under the leadership of Chairman Brandon Lutnick — son of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who has shed his interests in the company under a government ethics agreement.

Cantor said earlier this month it would form a $5.3 billion Bitcoin treasury company with Adam Back, an early cryptographer, in the firm's second multibillion-dollar crypto-treasury deal in less than three months. Cantor has also facilitated several other Bitcoin treasury deals and acted as an advisor to Trump Media & Technology Group in acquiring the cryptocurrency.

Like other investment banks, Cantor's research team is independent and sits behind a so-called Chinese Wall which separates it from the firm's investment-banking activities.

Among other cryptocurrencies, Ether rose 0.7% while XRP gained 0.2%. Solana was up 3.9%.

Cryptos gained over the weekend, boosted by traders' increased risk appetite following the U.S.-EU trade deal, announced by President Donald Trump Sunday. He said the U.S. would set a baseline 15% tariff on European goods.

Bitcoin hit a record high of nearly $123,000 earlier this month. Cryptos have gained momentum after new legislation was passed that aims to give the sector more regulatory clarity in the U.S. The Genius Act to regulate so-called stablecoins — assets pegged to a fiat currency — was recently signed into law.

The House of Representatives also passed the Clarity Act, which would address the confusion about what asset class cryptos belong to — something analysts say will increase institutional investment in many tokens. The bill is now with the Senate, which is likely to debate it when lawmakers return from summer recess.

Write to Adam Clark at adam.clark@barrons.com and Elsa Ohlen at elsa.ohlen@barrons.com

This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.