Standard Chartered Warns Bitcoin Faces $50K Drop Before Year-End Rally


Standard Chartered has slashed near-term price projections for major #cryptocurrencies while maintaining optimistic year-end targets. Geoffrey Kendrick, the bank's head of #digitalassets research, now expects $BTC to drop to $50,000 and $ETH to $1,400 before both assets rebound later in 2026.


The revised outlook marks Standard Chartered's latest downgrade in recent months.

Kendrick previously anticipated $BTC reaching $150,000 by year-end, a target he cut from an initial $300,000 projection last December. The current forecast now sits at $100,000 for #Bitcoin and $4,000 for #Ethereum by the end of 2026.


Exchange-traded fund investor behavior is driving the bearish short-term view, according to Kendrick. $BTC ETF holdings have declined by nearly 100,000 coins since peaking in October 2025. The average ETF buyer now holds unrealized losses after purchasing near $90,000 per coin.


Total assets under management in Bitcoin #ETFs dropped 41% from their October peak of $165 billion to $96 billion. Ethereum ETFs experienced similar pressure, falling 43% from $23 billion in August 2025 to $13 billion as of Thursday morning.

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February 12, 2026 at 6:45 PM
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