💡 Summary:
Standard Chartered Bank has raised its year-end Bitcoin price target from $120K to $180K, citing a blend of ETF demand, favorable U.S. legislation, and increased institutional adoption.
📈 Why the Bullish Outlook?
- ETF-Driven Liquidity Boom
- Spot Bitcoin ETFs are driving unprecedented demand, especially from U.S. retirement funds, insurance companies, and asset managers.
- Over $7.5 billion has flowed into Bitcoin ETFs since mid-June 2025.
- Supply Crunch Intensifying
- 70% of Bitcoin is held long-term in cold storage.
- New supply is shrinking after the April 2024 halving, pushing scarcity to all-time highs.
- Fewer coins are available on exchanges—down over 20% year-over-year.
- U.S. Regulatory Clarity
- With the GENIUS Act, Clarity Act, and Anti-CBDC Act likely to pass by August, the U.S. is on track to become the most crypto-friendly major economy.
- The bank sees this as removing a “multi-year regulatory overhang.”
- Institutional Adoption Accelerates
- Fortune 500 companies and sovereign wealth funds are publicly entering the market.
- Bitcoin is being viewed as a reserve diversification tool amid global monetary instability.
- Macro Environment
- Rising inflation, U.S. political uncertainty, and a weakening dollar are causing investors to seek non-correlated, hard assets—Bitcoin is now topping that list.
🧠 Expert Quote:
“We believe Bitcoin is entering its third major institutional cycle. This time, it’s less about speculation—and more about strategy,” says Geoff Kendrick, Head of FX and Digital Assets Research at Standard Chartered.
