Bitcoin’s Path to $200,000 Stays Intact Thanks to ETF Adoption and Corporate Buying, According to StanChart

StanChart Remains Bullish on Bitcoin, Maintains $200K Price Forecast

Standard Chartered believes bitcoin (BTC) could break away from its usual post-halving patterns and soar to new highs in the latter half of 2025, according to a research note released Wednesday.

Typically, bitcoin prices trend downward around 18 months after a halving—the event that reduces the pace of new BTC entering circulation every four years. However, this cycle could play out differently due to growing institutional involvement.

“The bitcoin halving cycle is dead,” declared Geoffrey Kendrick, Standard Chartered’s Head of Digital Assets Research.

Kendrick maintained his ambitious year-end price projection of $200,000 for BTC, anticipating that the cryptocurrency might reach roughly $135,000 by the end of the third quarter.

The bank credits its optimism to steady inflows into spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and increasing interest from corporations allocating part of their treasuries to BTC. Together, these investors acquired an estimated 245,000 BTC during Q2, and Standard Chartered expects the buying trend to persist into the second half of the year.

From a broader economic standpoint, developments like a possible early departure by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and progress on U.S. stablecoin regulation could also serve as additional boosts for bitcoin’s price, the report noted.