Standard Chartered projects bitcoin could reach $500,000 by 2030 and expects prices above $100,000 before the end of 2026.

Forecast details

Jeff Kendrick, head of digital assets research at Standard Chartered, presented the bank’s price targets and supporting rationale for the outlook.

• More than $100,000 for bitcoin by the end of 2026, a target the firm notes could prove conservative.
• $500,000 for bitcoin by 2030 as the longer-term central projection from the research team.

Drivers of the outlook

Kendrick points to an improvement in U.S. market liquidity, which he identifies as one of several catalysts for renewed investor interest.

He highlighted an inflow of approximately $1.5 billion into bitcoin exchange-traded funds during a single week as evidence of growing demand.

The potential passage of the CLARITY Act and the return of institutional capital to crypto markets also feature in the bank’s constructive scenario.

Institutional allocation

Kendrick argues that large investors remain underallocated to bitcoin, and that their additional allocations could provide the primary impetus for the next price leg up.

The research note frames institutional reallocation as a key supply-demand shift that, combined with improved liquidity and regulatory clarity, may amplify market moves.

Standard Chartered’s projections reflect its assessment of macro, liquidity and regulatory trends rather than a guaranteed outcome, and the bank notes uncertainty remains around timing and magnitude of future moves.