By Elizabeth Howcroft

LONDON (Reuters) - Top cryptocurrency bitcoin could reach $100,000 by the end of 2024, Standard Chartered said on Monday, saying that the so-called "crypto winter" is over.

could gain from factors including recent turmoil in the banking sector, a stabilisation of risk assets as the U.S. Federal Reserve ends its rate-hiking cycle and improved profitability of crypto mining, Standard Chartered (OTC:)'s head of digital assets research Geoff Kendrick said in a note.

"While sources of uncertainty remain, we think the pathway to the USD 100,000 level is becoming clearer," Kendrick wrote.

Bitcoin has rallied so far this year, rising above $30,000 in April for the first time in ten months. It gains represent a partial recovery after trillions of dollars were wiped from the crypto sector in 2022, as central banks hiked interest rates and a string of crypto firms imploded.

Predictions of sky-high valuations have been commonplace during bitcoin's past rallies. A Citi analyst said in November 2020 that bitcoin could climb as high as $318,000 by the end of 2022. It closed last year down about 65% at $16,500.