After months of speculation, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has finally given the green light to 11 spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Market bulls in the cryptocurrency sector believe this decision could be a pivotal factor in driving the market's most popular cryptocurrency to hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Standard Chartered, a prominent British bank, and Tom Lee from Fundstrat are among those predicting that bitcoin will surpass the $100,000 mark. Other analysts have described the SEC's announcement as a "turning point" for the cryptocurrency market. So far, the market reaction has been somewhat muted, with the cryptocurrency seeing a limited increase last week. This could be a classic case of investors "buying the rumor and selling the news."

Bitcoin has experienced a 70% surge since late October, as the SEC moved closer to this historic decision. Currently, bitcoin's price is at its highest in the last two years. To reach the $100,000 milestone, the price would need to double again. However, many believe it will achieve this by the end of 2024, with regulated spot bitcoin ETFs attracting large institutional investors to the cryptocurrency sector.

Standard Chartered stands out as a high-profile company particularly optimistic about bitcoin's trajectory. The bank's strategic analysts recently predicted that spot ETFs could lead to inflows of $50 to $100 billion into the cryptocurrency this year, setting a target price of $200,000 for bitcoin by the end of 2025.

Meanwhile, Tom Lee of Fundstrat stated in a recent interview that he expects bitcoin to climb between $100,000 and $150,000 in the next 12 months, potentially skyrocketing to $500,000 within the next five years.

Carol Alexander, an economist at the University of Sussex, who successfully predicted bitcoin's fall in 2022 and its sudden recovery last year, does not set such high targets but still expects the cryptocurrency's price to range between $70,000 and $100,000 by the end of December.

Despite these ambitious value goals, the entire investment and economic world has not been convinced. According to former Pimco CEO Mohamed El-Erian, although the 'green light' from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will play a significant role, it is not expected to substantially expand the use of bitcoin.

'As noteworthy as these factors are in terms of enhancing cryptocurrency, they do not significantly promote its role as a potential global currency. The prospects in this field remain much more limited,' he added.

Even the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission itself seems cautious regarding the dynamics of bitcoin as an investment choice. In a recent statement, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler described cryptocurrency as 'primarily a speculative, volatile asset used for illegal activities such as ransomware, money laundering, evasion of international sanctions, and financing terrorism.'