Strategy, the Michael Saylor-led company that created Bitcoin accumulation of its core business, bought $76.6 million worth of cryptocurrency last week, increasing its total holdings to 762,099 BTC – about 3.5% of the entire Bitcoin supply.
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Wall Street brokerage Bernstein used that move as a springboard to reaffirm one of the market’s boldest price calls: Bitcoin Reach $150,000 before the year is over.
Institutional money is on the move
Bernstein Senior analyst Gautam Chhugani presented the outlook in a note to clients on Monday, saying BTC has found its price floor after months of decline.
If this call is correct, it would mean that the drop to around $60,000 in early February was the lowest point in the current recession – and everything from here on out points upwards.
Bitcoin was trading above $71,000 at the time of the report, meaning the $150,000 target represents a gain of more than 110% from current levels.
Chhugani pointed to two forces he believes will push the price there: growing inflows into BTC exchange-traded funds and rising corporate demand.
The numbers supporting this claim are hard to ignore. Bitcoin Spotting ETFs have taken in $167 million in one day this week – their first positive day in four sessions – and have attracted $1.6 billion in net inflows since the start of March.
The market saw a brief bounce earlier this week after reports that US President Donald Trump had ordered a five-day shutdown attacks on Iran. Bitcoin climbed to $71,750 on Monday before easing again.
Business buyers continue to pour in
Past Strategyinstitutional interest is expanding. Australian pension fund Hostplus has announced plans to offer customers Bitcoin exposure through self-directed portfolios.
Morgan Stanley, one of the biggest names in global banking, has updated its SEC filing for a US Bitcoin spot ETF, a sign that the product could be closer to launch than previously expected.
Bernstein described Strategy as a high-beta play on Bitcoin – meaning the stock tends to move sharply in the same direction as Bitcoin, but to a greater extent. Despite MSTR shares falling 50% from their all-time highs, Chhugani set a $450 price target on the stock, betting that the company’s large Bitcoin balance sheet would pay off if prices recover.
Not everyone agrees that the bottom has been reached
Bernstein’s optimism is not shared across the board. Veteran chart analyst Ali Martinez outlined a scenario where Bitcoin falls to $41,500 by mid-October 2026 before any meaningful recovery begins.
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Standard Chartered Bank has repeatedly warned that Bitcoin could revisit $50,000 first, citing weak economic conditions and limited demand. The bank also lowered its own Bitcoin forecast for 2026 from $150,000 to $100,000.
The division among analysts reflects how uncertain this market remains. Bitcoin has never been able to match the magnitude of the correction seen in previous bear markets if the February low held — that would make this one of the shallower pullbacks from an all-time high in the asset’s history.
Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView