Standard Chartered Indicates $120K Bitcoin Target for 2Q Could Fall Short.

Bitcoin Eyes New All-Time High as Institutional Demand Accelerates: Standard Chartered

The tide of institutional capital flowing into bitcoin is building, setting the stage for a potential breakout to new record highs, Standard Chartered said in a note Thursday.

U.S.-listed spot bitcoin ETFs have attracted $5.3 billion in gross inflows over the past three weeks, the bank reported. After adjusting for hedge fund basis trades—where investors arbitrage price differences between spot and futures markets—net inflows still total over $4 billion, reflecting genuine demand rather than short-term positioning.

“Flows are now the main driver of BTC,” said Geoff Kendrick, head of digital asset research at Standard Chartered. “And real money is coming in.”

Institutional involvement is deepening. MicroStrategy, the largest corporate holder of bitcoin, now controls 555,450 BTC, equivalent to 2.6% of the total capped supply. The firm’s latest plan to raise an additional $84 billion could push its holdings to more than 6%, Kendrick noted.

Regulatory disclosures next week via 13F filings may reveal more big-name entrants. Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund has confirmed exposure to BlackRock’s IBIT ETF, while central banks such as Switzerland’s SNB and Norway’s Norges Bank have invested in MicroStrategy shares.

In a further sign of growing policy alignment with bitcoin, New Hampshire this week passed legislation to establish a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve—the first of its kind among U.S. states.

Given the wave of institutional participation and policy momentum, Standard Chartered now believes its previous bitcoin price forecast of $120,000 for Q2 may be outdated. The bank maintains a bullish $200,000 year-end target.

Bitcoin traded at $101,000 at the time of writing.