Standard Chartered’s Bold Call: Bitcoin Eyes $120K by June as Technicals Flash Green
Charts scream breakout—Standard Chartered doubles down on its crypto moonshot, predicting Bitcoin could smash through $120,000 within weeks. The bank’s quant team cites ’textbook bullish divergence’ in on-chain metrics and derivatives positioning.
Meanwhile, Wall Street analysts scramble to update price targets—somewhere between ’late to the party’ and ’covering their shorts.’
Key drivers? Institutional inflows hitting record highs, spot ETF volumes eating traditional gold products for lunch, and that sweet, sweet halving supply crunch starting to bite. Just don’t mention the 37% volatility swings to your risk-averse clients.
Bitcoin Surge Amid Rising Term Premium
Analyst Geoff Kendrick emphasizes several key factors contributing to this optimistic view on Bitcoin’s price projection, pointing to the US Treasury term premium, which is currently at a 12-year high.
According to the analyst, the term premium refers to the additional yield that investors demand for holding longer-dated Treasury bonds compared to shorter-term ones, indicating broader market conditions that could favor Bitcoin as an investment.
In addition to macroeconomic indicators, Kendrick highlights the behavior of major large-cap investors, known as “whales,” These BTC holders have been actively accumulating the asset, a trend that suggests growing confidence in its value.
For instance, Bitcoin proxy firm Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy), founded by BTC bull Michael Saylor and currently the largest corporate holder of the cryptocurrency, has recently disclosed on Monday another round of weekly purchases.
Potential Sideways Trading Ahead?
Another noteworthy trend is the movement of funds into Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which Kendrick interprets as a safe-haven reallocation from traditional assets like gold.
In his view, this shift reflects a broader sentiment among investors who are increasingly looking at BTC as a viable alternative during uncertain economic times.
As of Monday morning, Bitcoin was trading at approximately $95,300, remaining relatively flat for the year but up 51% compared to the same time last year.
Kendrick cautions that historical patterns in Bitcoin’s price action indicate that sharp increases are often followed by extended periods of sideways trading. Conversely, Seeking Alpha analyst Damir Tokic offers a more cautious perspective on Bitcoin’s future trajectory.
He notes that BTC could continue to decline alongside the Nasdaq 100 if the market selloff accelerates and investor sentiment deteriorates. However, he also acknowledges the potential for Bitcoin to solidify its position as a safe-haven asset, particularly if the US dollar continues to depreciate.
When writing, BTC retraced below the $95,000 mark toward $94,560, still up 1.1% in the 24 hour time frame. Ethereum (ETH), however, has outperformed BTC’s price action with a nearly 14% surge in the weekly time frame, compared to Bitcoin’s 7.3% surge in the same time frame.
Other major altcoins like XRP and Solana (SOL), have also seen notable price recoveries, recording gains of 10% and 6% in the weekly time frame.
Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com
