Jeffrey Kendrick, head of digital asset research at Standard Chartered, believes bitcoin (BTC) will reach $200,000 by the end of 2025. This would be a significant jump from current trading levels.
Standard Chartered believes in BTC
In a Feb. 5 note to investors titled “Bitcoin - the path to the $500,000 level,” Kendrick identified two major factors influencing the currency's price trajectory. His optimistic outlook is based on increasing institutional access and decreasing market volatility.
The approval of U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs has greatly improved investor access to the asset. Kendrick expects this trend to accelerate under Donald Trump's administration.
“ETFs have attracted net inflows of $39 billion so far, supporting the theory that pent-up demand has been released due to increased access.”
Additionally, as the ETF market develops, Kendrick expects bitcoin volatility to decrease. A more stable BTC market could encourage further adoption of the asset among institutional investors. That, in turn, will increase its exposure to a portfolio that includes gold and bitcoin.
“Investor access and less volatility should lead to higher prices in the long term as portfolios continue to move towards their optimal/logical state.”
According to Kendrick, this change will drive long-term BTC price appreciation.
“Access plus less volatility could cause bitcoin to reach the $500,000 level before Trump leaves office,” he explained.
In addition to the two main factors, Kendrick highlighted two other important developments that may contribute to greater adoption of cryptocurrency by central banks. These are the repeal of the SAB 121 rule and Trump's executive order on the Digital Asset Reserve.
Based on these factors, Kendrick predicts the price will reach $200,000 by 2025 and $300,000 by 2026. It could rise to $400,000 by 2027 and $500,000 by 2028. He expects BTC to remain at this level until 2029.
How realistic is the bullish outlook
Bloomberg Senior ETF Analyst Eric Balchunas reacted to the report in a post on X (formerly Twitter):
“Standard Chartered is once again misleading the market nicely by claiming bitcoin will reach $500,000 by the end of Trump's term. However, their crazy forecast for inflows into the bitcoin-ETF was closer to reality than ours, so who knows!” - Balchunas stated.
Crypto investor Thomas Kralow expressed a similar opinion, noting that while the prediction is bold, it is not completely unrealistic.
“Time will tell how close to reality these predictions are, but it's not something completely unrealistic,” he noted.
Standard Chartered previously wrote that BTC would reach $125,000 by 2024. That prediction hinged on a Republican victory in the US election.
After Trump's election victory, bitcoin surpassed $100,000 in early December. However, it has yet to cross the $125,000 mark. The last all-time high was recorded on January 20, hours before Trump's inauguration, at $108,786. Since then, bitcoin has had sharp corrections, often falling below the round psychological level.
CryptoRank also predicts that bitcoin will reach new all-time highs in 2025. The platform expects central banks to adopt it as a reserve currency, which will strengthen its long-term value.
“Bitcoin-DeFi will become one of the leading narratives. More companies in the S&P 500 will hold BTC,” the report said.
However, the report emphasizes that the further growth of bitcoin depends on the US regulatory policy. If the government takes a cryptocurrency-friendly stance, the price may rise. Otherwise, resistance from regulators may cause a correction.
