Standard Chartered has made headlines with its latest investment note, significantly adjusting its year-end Bitcoin (BTC) price forecast from $100,000 to an astounding $150,000.
According to a report published by CoinDesk, citing “an emailed investment note” sent out earlier today, this revision reflects the bank’s growing optimism about Bitcoin’s value trajectory, further predicting that BTC could reach a cycle high of $250,000 next year before stabilizing around $200,000.
The bank’s analysis draws a compelling comparison between Bitcoin’s current situation and the historical impact of gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on the price of gold. Standard Chartered suggests that the introduction of spot Bitcoin ETFs in the US could mirror the transformative effect gold ETFs had on gold prices, arguing that this comparison serves as a solid basis for projecting Bitcoin’s price movements in the medium term.
“We think the gold analogy – in terms of both ETF impact and the optimal portfolio mix – remains a good starting point for estimating the ‘correct’ BTC price level medium-term,” the investment note stated. According to the bank’s projections, if spot ETF inflows reach their mid-point estimate of $75 billion, or if reserve managers begin purchasing BTC, there’s a high likelihood of Bitcoin’s value overshooting to $250,000 at some point in 2025.
In a bold extension of its cryptocurrency market analysis, Standard Chartered also anticipates regulatory approval for a spot Ether (ETH) ETF by the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 23. Such approval could trigger up to $45 billion in inflows within the first year, potentially propelling ETH to approximately $8,000 by the end of 2024, a significant leap from its current trading price of around $3,570.
Per the CoinDesk report, looking further ahead into 2025, in a separate note, Standard Chartered said that it expected the ETH-to-BTC price ratio to revert to the 7% level observed throughout much of 2021-22. Based on their estimated Bitcoin price of $200,000 at the end of 2025, this projection suggests an Ethereum price of $14,000.
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