In a rare moment of Wall Street humility, Standard Chartered’s head of digital assets has publicly acknowledged that his ambitious BTC price prediction might actually be too conservative as the cryptocurrency continues its meteoric rise.
Geoffrey Kendrick, who leads Standard Chartered’s digital assets division, recently made waves with his bullish BTC outlook, projecting the cryptocurrency would reach approximately $120,000 by the second quarter of 2025. His forecast was built on expectations of “strategic asset reallocation away from US assets” and significant “accumulation by ‘whales’ (major holders).”
Shifting Bitcoin Narrative
Now, as BTC has surged past the $100,000 milestone, Kendrick has issued a tongue-in-cheek apology to clients: “I apologize that my USD120k Q2 target may be too low.”
The statement reflects the rapidly evolving landscape for cryptocurrencies, with bitcoin’s performance exceeding even optimistic predictions. CNBC shared snippets from Standard Chartered’s emails to clients in which Kendrick notes a fundamental shift in Bitcoin’s market narrative: “It was correlation to risk assets… It then became a way to position for strategic asset reallocation out of US assets. It is now all about flows. And flows are coming in many forms.”
This evolution marks a significant departure from recent years, when analysts observed bitcoin trading patterns that mirrored risk assets like US technology stocks—a correlation attributed to increased institutional investment exposing BTC to similar market risks as equities.
Institutional Money And Government Interest
The influx of institutional capital stands as a primary driver behind bitcoin’s extraordinary performance. Kendrick highlighted that U.S. spot BTC exchange-traded funds have seen $5.3 billion in inflows over just three weeks, demonstrating substantial institutional appetite.
Several high-profile investors have made significant Bitcoin allocations, including software firm MicroStrategy’s aggressive acquisition strategy, the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund’s holdings in BlackRock’s IBIT Bitcoin ETF, and even the Swiss National Bank’s purchase of Strategy shares—a company widely considered a proxy for Bitcoin investment.
While Kendrick’s original forecast included a year-end target of $200,000, he has not specified a revised prediction despite suggesting his current target is too conservative. His initial outlook called for “gains continuing through the summer, taking BTC/USD towards our year-end forecast of 200,000.”
The cryptocurrency was trading at approximately $100,511 at the time of reporting, as this performance comes as institutional adoption accelerates and bitcoin increasingly establishes itself as a legitimate asset class within traditional financial portfolios.
As major financial institutions like Standard Chartered continue refining their cryptocurrency outlooks, Bitcoin’s trajectory suggests that even the most optimistic Wall Street predictions might be struggling to keep pace with the market’s rapid evolution and growing mainstream acceptance.
Market observers are now watching closely to see if other major financial institutions will follow Standard Chartered’s lead in revising their cryptocurrency outlook higher. The pattern of conservative price targets being repeatedly surpassed could potentially create a feedback loop that attracts more institutional investors, further driving demand.
