Bitcoin $120K Target for 2Q May Be Too Conservative: Standard Chartered

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By Will Canny | Edited by Sheldon Reback May 8, 2025, 4:14 p.m. Bitcoin's breakout is flow-driven and $120K may be too conservative a target for the 2Q: Standard Chartered. (Shutterstock) What to know : Standard Chartered said its second-quarter bitcoin price target of $120,000 may be too low. Spot bitcoin ETF net inflows were more than $4 billion in the last three weeks, when adjusted for hedge fund basis trades, the bank said. Strategy's bitcoin stash could grow to over 6% of the crypto's total future supply, analyst Geoff Kendrick wrote. Bitcoin ( BTC ) is poised to hit a new record high, with investment flows now the dominant market driver, according to Standard Chartered (STAN). U.S. spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have seen $5.3 billion in inflows over the past three weeks, the investment bank said in emailed comments Thursday. STORY CONTINUES BELOW Don't miss another story. Subscribe to the Crypto for Advisors Newsletter today . See all newsletters Sign me up By signing up, you will receive emails about CoinDesk products and you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . Adjusting for hedge fund basis trades, net real flow is estimated at over $4 billion, the bank said. The basis trade is a strategy that exploits the difference between the spot price of bitcoin and the price of the cryptocurrency in the futures market. Strategy (MSTR) has increased its holdings to 555,450 BTC, or 2.6% of total future supply, which is locked at 21 million BTC. The company's plan to raise $84 billion to buy more of the world's largest cryptocurrency could bring its stash to over 6%, wrote Geoff Kendrick, head of digital assets research at Standard Chartered. Next week’s 13F filings may reveal further institutional adoption, Standard Chartered said. Abu Dhabi’s sovereign fund already holds BlackRock's bitcoin ETF (IBIT), and both the Swiss National Bank and Norges Bank have disclosed positions in MSTR. New Hampshire passed a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve bill this week, the first U.S. state to do so, which signals growing policy alignment, the report added. Given these developments, a second-quarter bitcoin target of $120,000 may be too conservative, the bank said, citing its previous forecast. The bank has a year-end bitcoin price target of $200,000. The world's largest cryptocurrency was trading around $101,000 at publication time. Read more: Bitcoin to Hit New All-Time High Around $120K in Q2, Standard Chartered Says Disclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk’s full AI Policy . Bitcoin ETFs Standard Chartered Bank Analysts Will Canny Will Canny is an experienced market reporter with a demonstrated history of working in the financial services industry. He's now covering the crypto beat as a finance reporter at CoinDesk. 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