Standard Chartered Raises Year-End BTC Forecast to $150K, Sees 2025 High of $250K

• Standard Chartered increased its year-end bitcoin price forecast by 50% to $150,000.
• The bank also predicted BTC will reach a high for the cycle of $250,000 during 2025 before settling around $200,000.
• The ether price could climb to $8,000 by year-end if a spot exchange-traded fund is approved in the U.S.

Standard Chartered (STAN) raised its year-end forecast for bitcoin's BTC$88,844.40 price to $150,000 from $100,000.

The bank also predicted BTC will reach a high for the cycle of $250,000 next year before settling around $200,000, according to an emailed investment note on Monday.

Standard Chartered based its analysis on a comparison with the price of gold after gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs) were introduced in the U.S. and a correlation between ETF inflows and the BTC price. Spot bitcoin ETFs started trading in the U.S. in January.

"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 note said.

"If ETF inflows reach our mid-point estimate of $75billlion, and/or if reserve managers buy BTC, we see a good chance of an overshoot to the $250,000 level at some stage in 2025."

Standard Chartered also said the Securities and Exchange Commission could approve an ether ETH$3,099.13 ETF on May 23, leading to inflows of as much as $45 billion in the first 12 months and ETH reaching around $8,000 by the end of 2024. It was recently trading around $3,570.

"In 2025, we see the ETH-to-BTC price ratio rising back to the 7% level that prevailed for much of 2021-22," Standard Chartered said in a separate note. "Given our estimated BTC price level of USD 200,000 at end-2025, that would imply an ETH price of $14,000."

Read More: Ether ETFs Could Be Bigger Than Bitcoin ETFs, Says VanEck