Crypto rout set to deepen as Standard Chartered warns of further downside risks
Bank expects a ‘price capitulation in the next few months’ before recovering for the rest of the year
As the cryptocurrency market faces mounting pressure, Standard Chartered on Thursday cut its forecast for bitcoin, flagging a further drop to US$50,000 before the world’s largest cryptocurrency stabilises.
The digital currency was trading at around US$66,300 at 1pm Hong Kong time on Friday, a decline of nearly 50 per cent from a historical high of US$126,000 in October. Ether slid slightly to US$1,940 at 1pm on Friday. The world’s second-largest digital token has lost 60 per cent of its value from a peak of US$4,900 in August.
The current downbeat sentiment contrasts with the momentum late last year, fuelled in part by expectations of a more crypto-friendly stance from the Trump administration.
Geoffrey Kendrick, Standard Chartered’s global head of digital assets research, said that bitcoin could fall to as low as US$50,000 in the current downcycle before rebounding, while Ether could bottom out at around US$1,400.
“We expect further price capitulation in the next few months,” Kendrick said. “Once those lows have been reached, we expect a price recovery for the rest of the year.”