Geoffrey Kendrick of Standard Chartered revised his bitcoin price forecast, previously suggesting it could reach $120,000 by Q2 2025. He now believes this target might be conservative, citing changes in market dynamics and increased institutional investment as key factors. Bitcoin recently approached $100,000, suggesting growing bullish sentiment and investment flows.
In a rather candid moment, Geoffrey Kendrick, head of digital assets at Standard Chartered, recently apologised for his earlier $120,000 bitcoin price forecast. He made the light-hearted remark in an email to clients, acknowledging that his projection might actually be too conservative. Last month, he had confidently predicted that bitcoin would soar to an all-time high of around $120,000 by the second quarter of 2025.
Kendrick’s initial projection was based on several factors, including an expected shift in investment strategies, with decreasing emphasis on U.S. assets and increasing accumulation by major bitcoin holders, dubbed ‘whales.’ He stated back in September that these influences could potentially push BTC to a new record, followed by a forecasted increase to $200,000 by year-end.
Fast forward to this Thursday, and Kendrick suggested that his previous estimate no longer feels ambitious, calling the $120,000 target “very achievable”. He’s remarked on the changing dynamics around bitcoin, transitioning from its previous correlation with riskier assets to a more nuanced role in investment portfolios, particularly for larger institutional investors.
Kendrick explained that the present narrative surrounding bitcoin is centred on market flows, which are coming from various sources. The comments come just as the cryptocurrency is once again nearing the $100,000 mark, with current trading prices reported upwards of $99,293.54. Earlier peaks reached as much as $99,897.00, according to data from Coin Metrics.
A growing trend among analysts has shown that bitcoin is increasingly mirroring the fluctuations of risk assets, particularly U.S. tech stocks. This has raised concerns that as more institutional investment enters the bitcoin space, it risks exposure to the same market volatility affecting equities.
Kendrick’s enthusiasm for bitcoin continues, especially as recent data shows that U.S. spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds have attracted approximately $5.3 billion in inflows within just the past three weeks. This indicates heightened interest from institutional investors. He referenced significant moves by various large players, such as MicroStrategy, which is ramping up its bitcoin acquisitions, and the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund investing in BlackRock’s bitcoin ETF. The Swiss National Bank’s interest in MicroStrategy shares also highlights this trend of prominent firms pivoting towards bitcoin as a viable asset allocation.
Ultimately, Kendrick’s bullish stance on bitcoin underscores not just confidence in its future rise, but also reflects a broader shift among institutional investors toward greater exposure to cryptocurrencies. This evolving landscape could potentially lead to even higher price targets, as funds continue flowing into this digital asset.
