Investment firm Standard Chartered has cautioned that before any significant recovery starts, bitcoin might drop to $50,000 and ether to $1,400 in the upcoming months. The bank downgraded its full-year and short-term projections, citing a challenging macroeconomic environment and ongoing ETF withdrawals as the main causes for prudence.
While ether was trading at about $1,980 at the time of writing, bitcoin was trading close to $67,900. Rather than “buying the dip,” many ETF investors are currently sitting on losses, according to Geoff Kendrick, the bank’s head of digital assets research. According to reports, holdings in bitcoin ETFs have fallen precipitously from their peak in October 2025, which has increased selling pressure.
The entire cryptocurrency market has been struggling since the beginning of the year 2026. Till today, Bitcoin has dropped by over 23%. Risk-off sentiment has been aggravated by rising volatility, declining equity markets, and uncertainty surrounding U.S. interest rates.
The bank thinks the current downturn is not as bad as prior cycles and has not witnessed significant platform breakdowns like in 2022, despite the short-term weakness. Long-term goals are still lofty; by 2030, Bitcoin is expected to reach $500,000.
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