Written by: Mat Di Salvo, Liz Napolitano
Translated by: AI, Centreless
The price of Bitcoin once approached six figures, but after rapidly nearing the $100,000 mark last week, it is now trading below $94,000 per Bitcoin.
According to Standard Chartered Bank, Bitcoin still has room for further declines.
The company's digital asset researcher Geoff Kendrick wrote on Tuesday that there will be more bumps ahead, predicting BTC will drop to a low of $88,700. What is the reason?
He wrote: "I believe the catalyst for yesterday's (Bitcoin price drop) was the reduction in the U.S. Treasury yield premium after Bessent's (appointment as Treasury Secretary) announcement." After Donald Trump nominated Scott Bessent as U.S. Treasury Secretary, U.S. Treasuries rose, and yields on bonds with maturities from 5 to 30 years fell by more than 10 basis points.
Kendrick added that in the short term, the momentum for Bitcoin may slow because "one of the core uses of Bitcoin is to hedge against (traditional financial) issues (related to the banking sector or Treasury)."
Hedge fund manager Bessent is viewed by Wall Street as a fiscal conservative, which could mean wiser monetary policy—especially regarding tariffs. Donald Trump had promised to adopt aggressive tariff policies, imposing taxes on imported goods. Economists say that tariffs often lead to increased inflation, which has led to a correction in U.S. Treasury yields.
But many market analysts expect Bessent to tame Trump's policies, leading to a rebound in Treasury yields.
By market capitalization, the largest digital assets are often viewed as a hedge against poor government monetary policies and inflation. But with U.S. Treasury yields rising, investors—at least for now—are satisfied with what they see in traditional financial markets.
After Donald Trump shocked everyone by winning the election on November 5, Bitcoin began to soar, reaching a record high of $99,645 last week. This starkly contrasts with the situation on election night when Bitcoin was trading below $70,000 and Trump’s victory was still uncertain.
This former Republican president won the popular vote and swept all the swing states. Now, investors are optimistic: this real estate mogul has promised to relax regulations, cut taxes, and support the digital asset industry.
However, Bitcoin has failed to break through the $100,000 barrier and has rapidly declined this week.
However, Kendrick added that in the long term, it will continue to rise. He predicts that by the end of this year, Bitcoin will reach $125,000, and the goal of reaching $200,000 by the end of 2025 remains very likely.
Dan Morehead, CEO of Pantera Capital Management, predicts that Bitcoin prices could reach $700,000 by 2028, as institutional investors, regulators, and legislators become more accepting of digital assets.
"Based on historical trends, with the elected president Donald Trump supporting cryptocurrencies and the presence of a pro-digital asset majority in the U.S. Congress, Bitcoin prices could reach $740,000 by April 2028."
Morehead believes that currently only 5% of financial wealth is invested in blockchain-related assets, which means there is significant room for Bitcoin's price to grow.
"Even after 11 years, Bitcoin still keeps pushing up like a watermelon seed," Morehead wrote. "The regulatory headwinds that the blockchain has faced over the past 15 years are now turning into tailwinds."
This executive's optimistic prediction comes alongside good news for hedge funds: the Bitcoin fund launched by Pantera Capital in July 2013 has generated over 131,000% returns over the past 11 years (excluding fees and expenses).
These massive returns are due to the value of Bitcoin held by the hedge fund increasing over 1,000 times since it was first purchased for $74 each more than a decade ago.
According to CoinGecko data, at the time of writing, BTC is trading at around $96,300.
Despite the impressive growth of Bitcoin, Morehead believes that it is "still in the early stages" for this leading cryptocurrency and that there is still significant room for growth.
