Standard Chartered Throws in the Towel on Bullish Bitcoin Forecast

Markets Share Share this article Copy link X icon X (Twitter) LinkedIn Facebook Email Standard Chartered Throws in the Towel on Bullish Bitcoin Forecast Bowing to what he called a "cold breeze," but not a "crypto winter," Geoff Kendrick slashed his year-end outlook for BTC to $100,000 and doesn't expect $500,000 until 2030 versus 2028 previously. By Will Canny , AI Boost | Edited by Stephen Alpher Dec 9, 2025, 1:40 p.m. Investment bank Standard Chartered cuts bitcoin outlook, pushes $500K target to 2030. (CoinDesk) What to know : Bitcoin’s roughly 36% slide from its Oct. 6 peak has been steep, but it remains within expected bounds, according to analyst Geoff Kendrick. Further corporate buying via bitcoin digital asset treasury firms is unlikely as their valuations no longer justify expansion. He slashed his year-end outlooks for bitcoin, now seeing $500,000 as being hit in 2030 versus 2028 previously. Geoff Kendrick has seen enough. "Recent price action in bitcoin BTC $ 90,497.44 has been challenging, to say the least," said Standard Chartered's global head of digital assets in a Tuesday note titled "Not a crypto winter, just a cold breeze." STORY CONTINUES BELOW Don't miss another story. Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas 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 . Key among the reasons for Kendrick's shift is the collapse in the share values of bitcoin-focused digital asset treasury companies (DATs). One leg of his bull case, said Kendrick, was continued waves of buying by these firms. Their sharp price declines — many, if not most, now trading for below the value of the bitcoin on their balance sheets — leaves them seriously constrained in their ability raise further capital for fresh BTC purchases. "We expect a consolidation rather than outright selling, but DAT buying is unlikely to provide further support," said Kenrdrick. The bitcoin bull case going forward, Kendrick continued, now rests solely with ETF buying. He thus slashed his year-end 2025 price outlook to $100,000 from $200,000, 2026 to $150,000 from $300,000, 2027 to $225,000 from $400,000 and 2028 to $300,000 from $500,000. That $500,000 target will now have to wait until 2030, said Kendrick. Institutional access and investment-committee decision-making can take time, concluded Kendrick, but could ultimately drive the next major wave of demand. Read more: JPMorgan Maintains Bitcoin's Gold-Linked Target at $170K Despite Recent Drop Bitcoin News Standard Chartered Bank Breaking News AI 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 . 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