Standard Chartered Boldly Predicts Bitcoin Will Surge to $200,000 Before 2026
Brace for impact—Bitcoin's rocket ride isn't over yet.
Banking giant Standard Chartered just doubled down on crypto's wildest bull case, forecasting a $200K BTC price tag by New Year's Eve. That's right—while traditional finance clings to its spreadsheets, the OG cryptocurrency might deliver a 3x moonshot in six months.
Why the confidence? Institutional FOMO meets halving economics. The same analysts who called Bitcoin's 2024 rally now see whales and ETFs fueling the next leg up. Never mind that Wall Street still can't decide if crypto is an asset class or a speculative bubble—money talks louder than skepticism.
Of course, skeptics will scoff. 'Predictions are free—performance is expensive,' muttered one hedge fund manager between sips of $20 artisanal coffee. But with BlackRock's ETF inflows hitting record highs and miners hodling tighter than a banker's purse strings, this could be the payoff patient crypto believers waited for.
One thing's certain: if Bitcoin actually nails this prediction, the 'I told you so' from crypto bros will be louder than a Lambo exhaust. Buckle up.
- Standard Chartered forecasts Bitcoin hitting $135K by Q3 and $200K by year-end.
- Corporate treasury buying and ETF inflows are breaking historical halving patterns.
- Over 848K BTC is now held by 51 companies, led by Strategy (MSTR) with 597K BTC.
Standard Chartered doubled down on its bullish Bitcoin outlook, with the digital asset potentially reaching $135,000 by Q3 2025 and $200,000 at year-end. Its recent report quoted Geoff Kendrick, head of digital asset research, highlighting a deviation from a traditional halving cycle pattern.
In the past, bitcoin witnessed dramatic crashes around 18 months after the halving, as witnessed during the 2016 and 2020 cycles. Kendrick is convinced that the dynamics have evolved, with reference to the tremendous impact of persistent ETF flows and treasury purchases by companies.
The April 2024 halving decreased miner earnings, commonly followed by short-term corrections. However, Kendrick said that this time around, the forces brought to bear by the corrections associated with a halving could be trumped by continued demand by investors.
Although there will be some price volatility during late Q3 and early Q4, Kendrick argued that such bullish momentum is underpinned by fresh market fundamentals that are lacking in past cycles.
ETF and Treasury Inflows Strengthen Bullish Narrative
Despite a short-term loss of ETF sentiment with net outflows totaling $342.3 million on July 1 after a 15-day run of inflows concluded, long-term flows remain healthy. Data from SoSoValue shows such outflows accounted for just 7% of the recent $4.8 billion that flowed into spot Bitcoin ETFs.
During Q2, ETF and treasury acquisitions by corporations summed up to 245,000 BTC with the projection that such amount will continue to increase in the subsequent quarters.
Meanwhile, Alphractal founder Joao Wedson cited a more technical sign: the 1-Year Active Supply hasn’t declined yet, which shows accumulation is ongoing.
On the other hand, the 30-Day Active Supply is kept back, indicating that the market is not yet at a speculative euphoria phase, even with the Bitcoin trading at $109,801.37. These on-chain indicators once again confirm the possibility of another breakout.
The 1-Year Active Supply has not yet shown signs of decline, meaning there is still room for accumulation.
Meanwhile, the 30-Day Active Supply, which typically measures short-term excitement, has not reached high levels. This indicates that prices above $109K are not making… pic.twitter.com/Tuplp6Vyfs
Corporate Bitcoin Treasuries Top 848K BTC in 2025
The buying institutional pattern is also seen in the treasury data of corporations. According to CryptoQuant, a total of 51 companies currently possess 848,902.2 BTC. With the majority possessing small sums, only nine corporations possess the sum of more than 10,000 BTC.
Strategy (MSTR) is far out in the lead with 597,325 BTC while cementing its tight connection with Bitcoin performance. New entrants like Twenty One (XXI) and Metaplanet Japan have gained enormous stakes at a very rapid pace. XXI purchased 37,230 BTC and Metaplanet bought 12,897 BTC through 21 acquisitions in the year 2025 itself.
Stock prices usually MOVE with Bitcoin prices, meaning that the investors are treating the shares in these companies as Bitcoin proxy investments.
This increased institutional ownership and ETF demand marks a metamorphosis in the adoption curve of Bitcoin. Though a large number of companies are joining the space, very few have taken significant steps that suggest a second wave in the form of momentum in the year 2025.
