Standard Chartered Believes $120K Bitcoin Target for 2Q Could Be Too Cautious.

Bitcoin Eyes New All-Time High as Institutional Inflows Soar: Standard Chartered

Bitcoin (BTC) is nearing uncharted territory once again, with institutional demand and ETF activity propelling the asset toward a potential new record, according to an update from Standard Chartered Bank.

Over the past three weeks, U.S.-listed spot bitcoin ETFs have attracted $5.3 billion in gross inflows. When accounting for hedge fund basis trades, net inflows still exceed $4 billion, signaling strong real demand from investors, the bank said Thursday.

MicroStrategy (MSTR), a major bitcoin proponent, has upped its holdings to 555,450 BTC — around 2.6% of bitcoin’s capped 21 million supply. With plans to raise an additional $84 billion to buy more BTC, the firm could soon control more than 6% of the total supply, said Geoff Kendrick, Standard Chartered’s head of digital assets research.

Additional signs of institutional appetite could become public as soon as next week with the arrival of 13F filings. Sovereign wealth funds such as Abu Dhabi’s, and central banks like Switzerland’s SNB and Norway’s Norges Bank, have already disclosed exposure either via ETFs like BlackRock’s IBIT or indirectly through MSTR shares.

Meanwhile, bitcoin’s growing policy footprint is taking root in the U.S. — with New Hampshire becoming the first state to approve a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve bill.

Against this backdrop, Kendrick hinted that their prior second-quarter BTC price target of $120,000 might now be outdated. “Given the depth of real inflows and institutional positioning, the current momentum may support significantly higher levels,” he said.

Standard Chartered now maintains a year-end price target of $200,000 for bitcoin. At press time, BTC was changing hands near $101,000.