Geoff Kendrick, head of digital asset research at Standard Chartered, recently reiterated the bank’s ambitious Bitcoin price target of $150,000 by the end of this year, despite current market volatility and geopolitical tensions. In a comprehensive interview along with BNN Bloomberg, Kendrick highlighted the important role of ETF inflows and the upcoming halving events in driving up Bitcoin’s price.
Why Bitcoin Expects to Rally to $150,000 by the End of the Year
One of the key factors Kendrick has identified is the notable influx of capital into Bitcoin ETFs in the United States. Since the inception of these ETFs in early 2024, they have witnessed net inflows of approximately $12 billion. Highlighting the importance of these developments, Kendrick stated: “U.S. ETF inflows have dominated the supply-demand metrics so far in 2024. This is huge in terms of how the ETFs have done so far.”
He drew parallels between current trends in Bitcoin and gold’s historical performance following the introduction of gold ETFs. Kendrick elaborated on the potential size of this trend, predicting: “From the beginning of this year until the US ETF market matures, we will see between $50 billion and $100 billion in inflows.”
In addition to the ETF inflows, the Bitcoin halving was identified as another crucial factor. This event, which reduces the reward for mining new blocks and thus halves the number of new Bitcoin entering circulation, will reduce daily production from 900 BTC to 450 BTC.
While Kendrick said this halving may be “less significant than the last one,” he still sees it as significant in near-term supply dynamics. He said: “Obviously once we get the halving […]you only have half as many new coins, so that helps in the margin.”
In response to questions about market skepticism, particularly criticism from figures like JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon, who described Bitcoin as a “Ponzi scheme,” Kendrick offered a defense of Bitcoin’s underlying technology. He argued: “There are a lot of people who don’t understand the basic methodology behind Bitcoin. And it is really that blockchain technology where the value lies in the medium term.”
Looking further ahead
Kendrick continued, explaining the transformative potential of blockchain technology, not just for financial services, but for various industries: “Bitcoin is the first in that. It’s the largest asset right now, representing over 50% of the crypto market, but that opens the door to Ethereum and other use cases, which honestly, you could easily see a lot of in the next five to ten years. traditional financing is being disrupted.”
He further addressed recent market volatility, noting that Bitcoin had experienced a significant sell-off just before the halving, with $260 million in Bitcoin leveraged positions being liquidated. The Standard Chartered director interpreted this as a market correction that could set the stage for a healthier build-up post-halving, saying: “We have had a big drop in Bitcoin. Last Saturday specifically, there were $260 million Bitcoin leveraged positions that were liquidated. So the market now looks much fairer in terms of halving, if you will, in terms of leverage.”
Summarizing his views on Bitcoin’s future trajectory, Kendrick expressed a confident outlook, predicting not only a recovery but also a robust rise in Bitcoin’s price, driven by both the maturation of the ETF market and continued technological progress. His vision for Bitcoin by the end of 2025 extends even further than this year’s target, predicting a potential value of $200,000 per coin.
At the time of writing, BTC was trading at $66,556.
Featured image created with DALL·E, chart from TradingView.com
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