Bitcoin price could fall to $50,000: Standard Chartered

Major global bank Standard Chartered believes the Bitcoin price could fall further to around $50,000, according to recent commentary.

Geoffrey Kendrick, head of foreign exchange and digital assets research at Standard Chartered, told The Block: “With BTC well above $60,000, the path to the $50,000-$52,000 range is now open again.”

At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading below $57,000 after falling sharply from recent highs of $70,000. Kendrick cited both the Bitcoin market and broader macroeconomic factors affecting the Bitcoin price.

He highlighted five consecutive days of outflows from the U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF and a slow start to the new Hong Kong spot Bitcoin ETF as reasons for the recent decline.

Beyond the markets, Kendrick pointed to worsening liquidity measures in the U.S., putting pressure on risk assets such as Bitcoin.

However, Standard Chartered and Kendrick maintain an optimistic long-term outlook. The bank recently raised its year-end 2024 Bitcoin price target to $150,000 and sees the price as likely to reach $250,000 in 2025.

Kendrick said the bank’s forecast remains intact and that the next rally will come after the 2024 US elections.

Negative sentiment from the recent arrests of Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) and early Bitcoin investor Roger Ver could also be a factor in the decline.

Nonetheless, this decline occurred even after Bitcoin had recorded seven consecutive months of gains, suggesting a potential need for consolidation.

However, mainstream adoption continues to accelerate, as seen by the large initial inflows into US cash ETFs. Hong Kong ETF trading has started slowly, but these investment vehicles will likely generate significant institutional demand over time.