Standard Chartered Maintains $100,000 Bitcoin Target for Year-End

Bitcoin has been trading sideways in the $60,000 to $70,000 range, but Standard Chartered has maintained its forecast that the cryptocurrency will climb to $100,000 by the end of this year.

The Block reported on July 10 that Geoff Kendrick, Standard Chartered’s global head of digital-asset research, reiterated a year-end Bitcoin target of $100,000 in a report. He described current prices as a “screaming buy” and wrote that the recent pullback does not signal a break in Bitcoin’s longer-term trend.

Kendrick attributed Bitcoin’s recent weakness to a shift in Strategy’s approach. He wrote that the company had moved away from its previous stance of never selling Bitcoin and toward using the token as credit support for preferred stock. Because the company did not sufficiently explain that change to the market, short-term investor sentiment weakened, he said.

Strategy sold 3,588 Bitcoin last week for about $216 million. The company plans to use the proceeds to pay preferred stock dividends and bolster reserves.

Kendrick added that if the strategic shift is properly communicated to the market, prices of Strategy’s preferred shares could recover, reducing the need for additional Bitcoin sales.

JPMorgan, however, said the change in Strategy’s approach could increase Bitcoin volatility. By becoming both a buyer and a seller of Bitcoin, the company may create unnecessary two-way risk in the digital-asset market, the bank said.