Standard Chartered Predicts $135K Bitcoin Price by Q3
Financial giant Standard Chartered has issued a bullish Bitcoin price prediction that the leading cryptocurrency will reach $135,000 by the end of Q3 2025. This is because of strong demand from corporate treasuries and exchange-traded funds (ETFs), according to the bank.
Geoff Kendrick, head of digital asset research at Standard Chartered, noted that these new flows have changed the usual halving cycle dynamics. “BTC has moved beyond the old dynamic where prices fell 18 months after a halving,” he said in the report.
Halving Impact Fades in 2025 Cycle
Historically, Bitcoin’s halving events—when mining rewards are reduced by 50% approximately every four years—have resulted in massive price rallies and then sharp corrections about 18 months later. But Standard Chartered maintains that this cycle will be different.
Kendrick explained how the April 2024 halving may not result in a typical post-halving decline due to the new presence of ETF inflows and corporate buying that were absent in past cycles.
Despite the bullish forecast, the bank does not completely discount potential volatility in late Q3 and early Q4, citing the lingering risks of historical correction patterns.
ETFs and Corporate Buying to Outdo Past Quarters
In Q2 2025, ETF and treasury purchases totaled 245,000 BTC, Standard Chartered noted. The bank expects that figure to be surpassed in the coming few quarters, citing ongoing institutional interest.
But this optimism is against the backdrop of a recent pause in ETF momentum. U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs experienced outflows of $342.3 million on Tuesday—their first net outflow in over two weeks, per SoSoValue data. But Kendrick sees this as a short-term low point instead of a reversal of the broader bullish trend.
Long-Term Vision: $500K by 2028
Standard Chartered reiterates its long-term bullish view, reaffirming its $500,000 price target for Bitcoin by 2028. The bank’s forecast is based on the presumption of ongoing institutional adoption and the further integration of Bitcoin within the international financial system.
The bank’s view adds to growing confidence in Bitcoin’s strength and status as a developing asset class with increasingly institutional-driven as opposed to cyclical mining event-driven dynamics.
