23 April 2024
Geoff Kendrick, head of digital assets 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 with BNN Bloomberg, Kendrick highlighted the significant role of ETF inflows and upcoming halving events in driving Bitcoin’s price.
Why Bitcoin Is Set For A Rally To $150,000 By Year-End
One of the principal drivers identified by Kendrick is the remarkable influx of capital into Bitcoin ETFs within the United States. Since the inception of these ETFs in early 2024, they have witnessed approximately $12 billion in net inflows. Kendrick highlighted the significance of these developments, stating, “The ETF inflows in the US have dominated really the demand supply metrics in 2024 so far. This is huge in terms of how the ETFs have gone so far.”
He drew parallels between the current trends in Bitcoin and the historical performance of gold following the introduction of gold ETFs. Kendrick elaborated on the potential scale of this trend by projecting, “From the start of this year to when the ETF market in the US is mature, we’ll get between $50 and $100 billion of inflow.”
In addition to the ETF inflows, the Bitcoin halving event was identified as another pivotal factor. This event, which reduces the reward for mining new blocks thereby halving the rate of new Bitcoin entering circulation, is set to reduce the daily production from 900 BTC to 450 BTC.
Although Kendrick mentioned that this halving might be “less important than previous ones,” he still considers it significant in the short-term supply dynamics. He stated, “Obviously, once we have the halving […], you have only half as many new coins, so that helps at the margin.”
Responding to questions about market skepticism, particularly criticism from figures such as JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon, who described Bitcoin as a “Ponzi scheme,” Kendrick offered a defense of Bitcoin’s underlying technology. He argued, “There’s a lot of people out there that don’t understand the basic methodology behind Bitcoin. And it’s really that blockchain technology, which is where the value is medium term.”
Looking Further Ahead
Kendrick continued, explaining the transformative potential of blockchain technology not just for financial services but across various industries, “Bitcoin is the first in on that. It’s the largest asset at the moment, makes up for more than 50% of the crypto market, but that opens up the Ethereum and other use cases, which quite frankly, over the next five to 10 years, you can easily see a lot of traditional finance go on chain.”
Furthermore, he addressed the recent market volatility, noting that Bitcoin had experienced a significant sell-off just prior to the halving, with $260 million in Bitcoin leverage positions being liquidated. The Standard Chartered exec interpreted this as a market correction that might set the stage for a healthier build-up post-halving, saying, “We’ve had a large move lower in Bitcoin. Specifically, on Saturday last weekend, there were $260 million Bitcoin leverage positions that were liquidated. So the market is now looking much more square going into the halving, if you like, in terms of leverage.”
Summarizing his perspective on the future trajectory of Bitcoin, Kendrick expressed a confident outlook, projecting not only recovery but a robust increase in Bitcoin’s price, driven by both the maturation of the ETF market and ongoing technological advancements. His vision for Bitcoin by the end of 2025 reaches even beyond the current year’s target, predicting a potential value of $200,000 per coin.
At press time, BTC traded at $66,556.