Standard Chartered Backs $500K Bitcoin Forecast

Standard Chartered Backs $500K Bitcoin Forecast

In Summary

  • Standard Chartered sees $500K bitcoin target by 2029
  • Sovereign funds increasing MSTR holdings as indirect BTC play
  • Direct BTC ETF buying fell, MSTR seen as key exposure route
  • Global entities including France, Saudi Arabia enter MSTR market


Catenaa, Friday, May 23, 2025-Standard Chartered Bank said indirect sovereign exposure to bitcoin through shares of Strategy Inc. (MSTR) increased in the first quarter of 2025, reinforcing its bold prediction that Bitcoin will hit $500,000 before the end of Donald Trump’s expected second presidential term in 2029.1

In a report published Tuesday, Geoffrey Kendrick, the bank’s global head of digital assets research, cited U.S. SEC 13F filings as evidence that government entities and pension funds are shifting into MSTR as a bitcoin proxy due to regulatory constraints on direct crypto holdings.

While direct bitcoin ETF purchases remained weak in Q1 – with the State of Wisconsin Investment Board exiting its 3,400 BTC-equivalent stake in BlackRock’s IBIT -institutional MSTR buying surged.

Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala upped its IBIT position slightly, while Norway, Switzerland, South Korea, and several US state retirement funds collectively added more than 2,000 BTC in MSTR-equivalent exposure.

France and Saudi Arabia entered MSTR for the first time, signaling broader global institutional interest. Kendrick said such trends validate Standard Chartered’s forecast that rising institutional participation will propel bitcoin toward the half-million-dollar mark.

Alongside bitcoin, Kendrick has also forecast major gains for BNB, AVAX and XRP through 2029, while trimming his outlook on ether to $4,000 by next year.

Sources
  1. theblock.co: https://www.theblock.co/amp/post/355036/standard-chartered-sovereigns-indirect-bitcoin-exposure-mstr-500000-target[↩]
Protected by Copyscape