Geoff Kendrick has reached a breaking point.
“The recent fluctuations in bitcoin has been quite turbulent,” noted Standard Chartered’s global head of digital assets in a Tuesday commentary titled “Not a crypto winter, just a cold breeze.”
A major factor behind Kendrick’s change of perspective is the decline in stock prices of bitcoin-centric digital asset treasury companies (DATs). One pillar of his bullish stance was the ongoing purchasing activity by these companies. However, their significant price drops — with many now trading below the value of the bitcoin held in their reserves — severely limits their capacity to raise additional funds for new BTC acquisitions.
“We foresee a phase of consolidation instead of outright liquidation, but further purchases by DATs are unlikely to offer additional support,” stated Kendrick.
Looking ahead, the bitcoin bullish outlook, according to Kendrick, now hinges exclusively on ETF purchasing. Consequently, he has revised his year-end price forecasts: 2025 to $100,000 from $200,000, 2026 to $150,000 from $300,000, 2027 to $225,000 from $400,000, and 2028 to $300,000 from $500,000. The previous $500,000 target will now be pushed to 2030, Kendrick mentioned.
Access to institutional investment and the decision-making processes of investment committees can be time-consuming, Kendrick concluded, but they could ultimately spark the next significant wave of demand.
Read more: JPMorgan Maintains Bitcoin’s Gold-Linked Target at $170K Despite Recent Drop
