Standard Chartered Analyst: Bitcoin Could Reach $500,000 Under Trump

Leading cryptocurrency analyst at Standard Chartered, Geoffrey Kendrick, remains optimistic about Bitcoin despite the recent market downturn, which pushed the digital asset to its lowest level in three months. Kendrick maintains his prediction that Bitcoin could reach $500,000 before the end of Donald Trump's presidency.

Speaking to CNBC, Kendrick forecasted that Bitcoin would hit $200,000 this year before continuing its upward trajectory in the coming years. He believes that increasing institutional adoption and clearer regulations in the United States will help stabilize the market and reduce volatility over time.

"In the crypto ecosystem, what we need is for traditional financial players like Standard Chartered, BlackRock, and others with ETFs to truly step in," Kendrick said on CNBC’s Squawk Box Europe on Thursday (Feb 27, 2025).

Regulatory Clarity and Institutional Involvement to Strengthen Bitcoin

Kendrick added that as the industry becomes more institutionalized, it will also become safer, with fewer negative headlines. He referenced last week’s $1.5 billion hack of the Bybit crypto exchange as an example of the risks that still exist in the space.

Despite the recent decline, Kendrick remains optimistic about the crypto market’s outlook for the rest of the year, particularly as regulatory frameworks around stablecoins and anti-money laundering take shape.

"This will further legitimize the space, leading to greater involvement from U.S. banks and larger institutions," he noted.

Bitcoin fell below $90,000 earlier this week and was trading around $86,000 on Thursday, marking a 20% drop from its all-time high of $108,786 in January.

Kendrick attributed the broader decline in digital assets to uncertainty surrounding geopolitical tensions, tariffs, and weakening risk appetite in equity markets.

"Risk assets don’t respond well to uncertainty, and that’s what we’re seeing. U.S. tech stocks have also taken a hit," Kendrick said, emphasizing that the Bybit breach further dampened market sentiment.

However, he remains hopeful that market conditions will improve as regulatory progress advances and institutional participation grows within the crypto ecosystem.