Standard Chartered believes sovereign wealth funds and government-linked institutions are increasingly turning to indirect strategies to gain Bitcoin exposure—supporting the bank’s bold forecast of BTC reaching $500,000 before 2029.
In a report shared with The Block, the bank highlights a surge in institutional interest in MicroStrategy (MSTR) stock, which many investors treat as a proxy for holding Bitcoin. Regulatory hurdles in some regions appear to be steering entities toward equity-based exposure rather than direct BTC holdings.
Q1 filings revealed modest increases in spot Bitcoin ETFs, but MSTR ownership told a different story. Public institutions from Norway, Switzerland, and South Korea, as well as U.S. state pension funds in California, New York, and North Carolina, added MSTR to their portfolios.
New participants included France and Saudi Arabia, marking their first steps into Bitcoin-related assets.
Geoffrey Kendrick, head of digital asset research at Standard Chartered, views these moves as validation of his long-term BTC outlook. As institutional adoption broadens and volatility subsides, he expects portfolios to adjust accordingly—boosting prices over time.
The report also updates the bank’s broader crypto forecasts: BNB is expected to reach $2,775 by 2028, XRP could climb to $12.50, while Ethereum’s 2025 target has been revised to $4,000. Standard Chartered also projects the stablecoin market to swell to $2 trillion by the end of the decade.
The Bitcoin market is entering a complex phase marked by rising realized profits, reduced whale balances, and historically prolonged sideways price movement.
European banking giant UniCredit is preparing to offer its professional clients a new investment product linked to BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF (IBIT), according to a report by Bloomberg.
Connecticut has officially distanced itself from government adoption of digital assets like Bitcoin. On June 30, Governor Ned Lamont signed House Bill 7082 into law, placing sweeping restrictions on how the state and its agencies can engage with cryptocurrencies.
Bitcoin giant Strategy has added another 4,980 BTC to its reserves in a purchase worth approximately $531.9 million, according to Executive Chairman Michael Saylor.