Bitcoin's Next All-Time High May Be Just Days Away

Standard Chartered analyst Geoff Kendrick said the flagship crypto token looks set to surpass its $109,000 price record within the next week

Bitcoin price is poised to hit a new all-time high within the next week, Standard Chartered analyst Geoff Kendrick said Monday.

The flagship crypto token is now just $20,000 away from surpassing its previous record price of $109,000, reached in November. After a brief lull in H2 2024, Kendrick sees bitcoin reaching as high as $130,000 by February or March.

"We should see bitcoin hit a new all-time high in the next seven days (February 6 to 13), with prices reaching $130,000 by February/March," the bank's global head of digital assets research noted.

"After the Trump inaugurationப்பட்டது failed to generate a flurry of crypto-friendly annoucnements, crypto markets wavered and bitcoin prices fell $10,000 from the highs, prompting us to warn about a looming correction."

"Though Trump did sign a crypto executive order last week, we didn't think it satisfied industry expectations, which had been hoping for the annoucement of a national bitcoin reserve."

"However, with the order out and the Federal Reserve holding interest rates steady, some of the uncertainty that has been generating headwinds for crypto is now ebbing."

"Even Monday's massive equity sell-off offers bitcoin a silver lining, as it clears a path toward growth. After a new, cost-effective AI tool was announced by a Chinese startup, US tech stocks plunged."

"This caused traders to liquidate $1.1 billion of long bitcoin positions on futures exchanges over a few days, but the crypto market largely withstood the sell-off."

"Market positioning is a lot cleaner as a result, and for what it's worth, if cheaper AI lowers inflation (at the margin), then risk assets, like BTC, that have nothing to do with AI should benefit."

"With the risks fading for now, momentum looks to be building again for bitcoin, which bodes well for our bullish price targets."

"Trump's order Disappoints, but Other Countries May Create Bitcoin Reserves"

While Trump's executive order may have disappointed those who had been hoping for the announcement of a national bitcoin reserve, other countries may be coming around to the idea.

According to the Financial Times, the Czech National Bank could eventually convert 5% of its €140 billion in reserves into bitcoin, if a plan presented Thursday by central bank governor Aleš Michl is approved.

"At current prices this would see the CNB hold 69,000 BTC. The current largest proactive (and known) official holding is El Salvador with 6,049 BTC," Kendrick calculated.

"He added that the Swiss National Bank also appears to be moving toward embracing bitcoin, with Swiss campaigners collecting signatures to force a vote on the issue."

"This may take a while, but the move is important — Swiss reserves are six times as large as those in the Czech Republic."

"Bullish crypto players have predicted that the creation of a bitcoin reserve in the US would trigger other countries to create their own, significantly bolstering the token's price."

"While Trump did not move to create one in the US, his order does make room to set up a "stockpile," meaning that the US may hold onto the 207,000 bitcoin it already holds."

"Meanwhile, the Securities and Exchange Commission's removal of Staff Accounting Bulletin 121 will help to boost institutional demand for the digital asset."

"The unpopular rule effectively discouraged US lenders from acting as crypto custodians, a service that is in high demand from institutional investors."

"Institutional buying is the underlying tailwind driving our bullish outlook on bitcoin, and we have a $200,000 year-end target for the cryptocurrency," the analyst concluded.