Standard Chartered forecasts bitcoin falling to $50,000 and ether to $1,400 before staging a rebound.

Standard Chartered has trimmed its near-term and 2026 price forecasts for major cryptocurrencies, warning that additional capitulation may lie ahead as ETF outflows and macroeconomic headwinds continue to pressure digital assets.

The bank now projects bitcoin could fall to roughly $50,000 in the coming months, while ether may bottom near $1,400. Bitcoin was trading around $67,900 at the time of writing, with ether near $1,980.

Geoff Kendrick, the bank’s head of digital assets research, said recent weakness could persist as investors in crypto exchange-traded funds — many of whom are sitting on losses — are more inclined to cut exposure than add to positions on dips.

Once a floor is established, however, Kendrick expects prices to recover through the remainder of 2026. Even so, he lowered his year-end targets across major tokens. The bank now sees bitcoin at $100,000 by the end of 2026, down from a prior forecast of $150,000. Ether’s target was reduced to $4,000 from $7,500. Solana was cut to $135 from $250, BNB to $1,050 from $1,755, and AVAX to $18 from $100.

The broader crypto market has weakened considerably in early 2026. Bitcoin has fallen nearly 23% year-to-date and remains well below its late-2025 peak. Total market capitalization has contracted sharply in recent weeks amid heightened volatility and large-scale liquidations of leveraged positions.

Risk appetite has deteriorated as digital assets show increased correlation with softer equity markets. Concerns over global growth and the trajectory of interest rates have pushed capital toward traditional safe havens such as gold. At the same time, stalled regulatory clarity in the U.S. and liquidity pressures at certain institutions have dampened confidence, contributing to weaker trading revenues for crypto-focused firms and broad bearish sentiment.

According to Kendrick, bitcoin ETF holdings have declined by nearly 100,000 BTC from their October 2025 peak. With the average ETF entry price around $90,000, many investors are currently facing unrealized losses of roughly 25%.

Macro conditions are also limiting near-term upside. While U.S. economic data point to some softening, markets are not expecting interest-rate cuts before Kevin Warsh’s first Federal Open Market Committee meeting as Federal Reserve chair in mid-June, reducing immediate support for risk assets.

Despite the downturn, the bank noted that this correction appears less severe than previous cycles. At its trough in early February, bitcoin was down around 50% from its October 2025 all-time high, and approximately half of the circulating supply remained in profit — a sharp decline, but not as extreme as in past bear markets.

Importantly, the current cycle has not been marked by the collapse of major crypto platforms, unlike the failures of Terra/Luna and FTX in 2022. Kendrick said that resilience points to a maturing asset class.

The bank left its long-term projections unchanged, maintaining end-2030 targets of $500,000 for bitcoin and $40,000 for ether, citing sustained adoption trends and structural growth drivers