Bitcoin Will Surge to $500k Before Donald Trump's Presidency Ends, Says Standard Chartered

Bitcoin may have stumbled, but Standard Chartered remains unfazed in its long-term bullish outlook.

Standard Chartered is standing firm in its long-term bullish outlook on Bitcoin, despite the cryptocurrency’s recent struggles.

The bank’s head of digital assets research, Geoffrey Kendrick, predicts that Bitcoin will reach $500,000 before Donald Trump’s presidency ends. That comes amid a sharp selloff that has seen the cryptocurrency hit a three-month low.

Kendricks anticipates Bitcoin hitting $200,000 by the end of 2025, a critical threshold for the digital asset to pass in order to advance further. He highlighted the role of institutional participation, especially from major financial players like Standard Chartered and BlackRock.

“Within the crypto ecosystem, what we need are traditional financial players, like Standard Chartered, like BlackRock and others that have the ETFs now to really step in,” Kendrick told CNBC’s Squawk Box Europe.

This rise will be fueled by increasing institutional adoption and regulatory clarity, according to Kendrick. As major financial institutions like BlackRock and Standard Chartered become more involved, he expects Bitcoin to become less volatile, making the asset class more appealing for mainstream investors.

Crypto Market Hit By Declines But Outlook Remains Strong

Bitcoin recently dropped below $92,000, hitting a three-month low in response to broader market declines. At the time of writing, the world’s largest cryptocurrency was changing hands at $84,300, about 20.60% lower than its record high of $106,136 reached in January.

Several factors contributed to the downturn, including a slump in US tech stocks and a massive $1.5 billion hack targeting the crypto exchange Bybit. “Risk assets don’t like uncertainty, and so that’s what we’ve seen,” Kendrick said, highlighting how market sentiment impacts Bitcoin’s short-term price movements.

Despite the recent selloff, Kendrick remains optimistic that regulatory improvements will boost institutional participation, ultimately reducing volatility over time. He anticipates new US regulations on stablecoins and anti-money laundering laws to be crucial in establishing legitimacy and driving wider adoption of crypto assets.

Bitcoin Faces Key Market Test As Short-Term Holders Struggle

The shifting trends in market sentiment are evident in Bitcoin’s Short-Term Holder Spent Output Profit Ratio (STH-SOPR), which hovers close to the critical 1.0 breakeven level.

A recent report by Glassnode on February 24th sheds light on this crucial indicator and its implications for Bitcoin’s price momentum.

According to Glassnode’s analysis, breaking above this threshold has historically signaled bullish momentum in Bitcoin, while failure to do so could trigger another wave of selling pressure. Throughout the past few months, STH-SOPR has fluctuated between 0.98 and 1.04, closely following Bitcoin’s price movements.

As the indicator peaked in November and December, Bitcoin experienced a sustained climb from the $55,000 range to approach $80,000 before encountering resistance and stalling. However, despite this selloff, short-term holders, typically those holding coins for less than 15 days, managed to offload their coins without realizing significant losses.

Now, with the indicator suggesting a critical juncture and short-term holders at a crossroads, the question arises: will they accept smaller gains to realize some profit or endure further market dips in the hope of larger gains later?

A decisive move above 1.0 could reignite buying pressure, potentially propelling Bitcoin towards its all-time highs. Conversely, if the ratio dips further from current levels, we might witness more selling activity, delaying any meaningful recovery in the market.

Glassnode’s data further reveals that short-term traders have been offloading Bitcoin at a loss over the past month, compounding the stress on the market. Moreover, the report highlights that short-term holders are becoming increasingly pessimistic with each price pullback, impacting their willingness to sell coins at lower prices.

This analysis underscores the crucial role of short-term holder sentiment and the Short-Term Holder Spent Output Profit Ratio in shaping the short-term trends of Bitcoin. As the market navigates this period of volatility, the behavior of short-term traders will be pivotal in determining the direction of the cryptocurrency in the coming weeks and months.