As the financial world waits to see when and which Bitcoin spot ETF applications will be approved, Standard Chartered Bank on Monday released a forecast that the Bitcoin price will hit $200,000 by the end of 2025.
“If ETF-related inflows materialize as expected, we believe levels closer to $200,000 by the end of 2025 are possible,” Jeffrey Kendrick, head of financial research at Standard Chartered Bank, said in a note to investors.
Bitcoin ETFs are designed to track the current price of Bitcoin and follow Bitcoin’s price movements, allowing investors to gain exposure to the digital asset itself without having to purchase and store it. Bitcoin ETFs are managed by investment companies that hold Bitcoin.
BlackRock, Grayscale, Ark, iShares, Bitwise, VanEck, Wisdomtree, Invesco, Fidelity, and Franklin have ETFs in the process of final approval.
Kendrick said the 2025 forecast is consistent with previous estimates of $100,000 by the end of 2024.
“ETF acceptance is a key driver of BTC price growth,” Kendrick said. “We see this as a watershed moment in normalizing Bitcoin participation by institutional funds, and we expect approval to lead to significant inflows and price appreciation for BTC.”
Kendrick’s comments echo those of Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas, who said Thursday that the Bitcoin ETF could hit $100 million within 10 years.
“$2 billion would be a solid new year for any sector, but I’m a little more optimistic than that – maybe $10 billion in the first year,” Balchunas said.
“What’s difficult to predict here is the short term. “In the medium term, we expect it to be in the range of $30 billion to $50 billion over three years,” he continued. “That could lead to gold prices reaching around $100 billion over five to 10 years.”
On Saturday, Balchunas posted on Twitter that he had a 95% chance of the SEC approving a Bitcoin ETF in January.
“At this point, we’re probably going to go to 5%. But you have to keep a small window open for these things,” Balchunas said.
Edited by Ryan Ozawa.