Standard Chartered, a multinational bank, has issued a bullish forecast for Bitcoin, anticipating a potential surge to nearly $200,000 by 2024. The bank’s prediction hinges on the approval and success of Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the United States, with an expected influx of $50-100 billion into these funds. This optimistic outlook is based on the assumption that between 437,000 and 1.32 million Bitcoin will be held in U.S.-listed Bitcoin ETFs by the end of 2024.

Standard Chartered Executives Foresee Significant Inflows and Rapid Market Development

Standard Chartered’s head of digital assets, Geoff Kendrick, and precious metals analyst Suki Cooper have expressed optimism about Bitcoin’s potential trajectory, predicting a surge to nearly $200,000 by the end of 2025. They emphasize that this forecast is contingent on the approval and success of Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the United States, anticipating significant inflows of $50-100 billion into these funds.

The executives draw parallels to the gold market, where a 4.3 times increase in value occurred approximately seven to eight years after the launch of gold exchange-traded products. Kendrick and Cooper believe Bitcoin could experience similar gains but over a shorter one- to two-year period, reflecting the anticipated rapid development of the BTC ETF market.

The executives consider the approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs as a “watershed moment” for normalizing Bitcoin participation. Moreover, they align this latest $200,000 prediction with their earlier forecast of $100,000 for Bitcoin by the end of 2024.

Bitcoin Network Activity: Key Factor for Price Speculation 

While attention is often focused on spot Bitcoin ETFs, industry expert Jamie Coutts, a blockchain strategist at Pragmatic Blockchain Research, highlights the importance of considering Bitcoin’s strengthened network fundamentals. Coutts points to a logarithmic “Bitcoin Network Activity” graph, indicating that Bitcoin’s fundamentals are at an all-time high. Despite this, he notes that Bitcoin is still 40% below its peak, suggesting it is undervalued, especially given its robust network fundamentals and emerging use cases like inscriptions.

Conclusion

Standard Chartered’s optimistic prediction of Bitcoin reaching nearly $200,000 by the end of 2025, contingent on the success of spot Bitcoin ETFs in the U.S., underscores the transformative potential of regulatory developments in the cryptocurrency market. The executives’ comparison to the gold market and anticipation of rapid ETF market development signals a positive outlook for Bitcoin’s future. Additionally, industry experts emphasizing Bitcoin’s strengthened network fundamentals further contribute to the growing narrative of the cryptocurrency’s enduring value and potential for future growth.