Bitcoin to reach $200K by end of 2025: Standard Chartered

Bitcoin to reach $200,000: Standard Chartered has forecasted a potential surge in Bitcoin's value to nearly $200,000 by the end of 2025, contingent on the approval and success of Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the United States. The bank's projection hinges on an estimated holding of between 437,000 to 1.32 million Bitcoin within US-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs, translating to an inflow ranging from $50 billion to $100 billion.

Geoff Kendrick, Head of Digital Assets at Standard Chartered, along with Precious Metals Analyst Suki Cooper, articulated this prediction in a report disseminated on a social media platform on January 8. To attain the envisaged $200,000 per Bitcoin valuation, the cryptocurrency would need to appreciate approximately 4.3-fold from its existing price level of around $47,000.

Drawing parallels with the trajectory of gold exchange-traded products launched in November 2004, Kendrick and Cooper anticipate Bitcoin to achieve comparable growth but within a condensed timeframe of one to two years. They regard the approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs as a pivotal development for mainstreaming Bitcoin investment.

Strong network fundamentals

Furthermore, Standard Chartered's recent prognostication aligns with its prior forecast of Bitcoin reaching $100,000 by the end of 2024. However, amid this optimism, Blockchain strategist Jamie Coutts of Pragmatic Blockchain Research emphasised Bitcoin's robust network fundamentals, which he illustrated through data from blockchain analytics firm CryptoQuant.com. Coutts highlighted that despite its recent performance, Bitcoin remains undervalued compared to its historical peaks.

Contrarily, Mike McGlone, Senior Macroeconomic Strategist at Bloomberg Intelligence, expressed reservations about Bitcoin's sustainability post-ETF approval. McGlone cautioned that significant risk assets typically experience downturns, characterising Bitcoin as among the riskier assets in the market. He further underscored the need for cautious investment amid heightened market anticipation.