Two major financial institutions Standard Chartered and Bernstein have revised their Bitcoin price forecasts amid noticeable shifts in institutional participation. While their near-term expectations differ, both remain broadly optimistic about Bitcoin’s long-term trajectory.
Standard Chartered trims near-term expectations
Standard Chartered has lowered its short- and medium-term Bitcoin projections after observing a decline in corporate treasury allocations and a slowdown in ETF inflows. The bank now expects Bitcoin to reach a lower price level by the end of 2026 compared with its earlier estimate and has extended its long-term outlook to 2030.
According to Geoffrey Kendrick, the bank’s global head of digital assets, the wave of Bitcoin accumulation from corporates — often referred to as digital asset treasuries (DATs) has largely “run its course.” Many of the companies once expected to drive large-scale Bitcoin buying no longer have the balance-sheet strength or incentives to continue doing so.
With corporates stepping back, ETFs have become the primary channel for institutional demand. However, recent ETF inflow slowdowns have tempered the bank’s immediate expectations.
Bernstein raises long-term Bitcoin projections
In contrast, Bernstein has boosted its Bitcoin price targets for the end of 2026 and the years that follow. Although the firm reduced its short-term peak outlook due to recent market weakness, analysts argue that Bitcoin has matured beyond its traditional four-year halving cycle.
They describe the current environment as a more sustained expansion phase, projecting rising prices through 2027 and extending their long-term forecast all the way to 2033.
Market context: Price pullback, ETF outflows, and shifting investor behavior
Bitcoin has pulled back sharply from its October highs and is now trading near important support levels. Spot Bitcoin ETFs have also seen outflows, with several funds recording their largest redemptions of the year in November.
Although the outflows are relatively small compared with total assets under management, they have raised fresh questions about whether investors are willing to maintain the long-term holding patterns that historically underpin post-correction recoveries.
Despite these developments, both Standard Chartered and Bernstein maintain a positive big-picture outlook for Bitcoin, suggesting that the current weakness is cyclical rather than structural.
Related development: Standard Chartered-backed Libeara launches tokenized gold fund
The forecast updates come as Libeara, a blockchain infrastructure firm supported by Standard Chartered’s venture arm SC Ventures, announced the launch of a tokenized gold investment fund in Singapore another sign of growing institutional interest in blockchain-based financial products.
