Citi raised its 12-month price targets to $181,000 for Bitcoin and $5,400 for Ether, while lifting its year-end forecasts to $132,000 and $4,500. The bank's analyst says further gains should come from investor demand, with both tokens already trading above the levels its activity-based models would suggest.
Citi lifts its 12-month and year-end targets
Citi set new 12-month price targets of $181,000 for Bitcoin and $5,400 for Ether. The bank also raised its year-end forecasts to $132,000 for Bitcoin and $4,500 for Ether, pointing to modest upside before the year closes.
Analyst Alex Saunders said further gains next year should come from investor demand, since both tokens already trade above the statistical measures Citi builds from user activity. The bank expects the positive flow backdrop to continue as institutional investors and financial advisers raise their crypto allocations, helped by a favorable regulatory environment, particularly in the United States.
Bitcoin keeps its edge over Ether
Citi favors Bitcoin over Ether, citing its larger size, longer history and clearer digital-gold narrative, which the bank expects to draw a bigger share of incremental flows. Bitcoin currently trades above Citi's adoption model estimate of $83,000, within a range of $70,000 to $95,000 driven by ETF flows and regulation. The bear case assumes a recession and weaker equities, while the bull case assumes even stronger flows.
Bitcoin flows explain 42% of return variation for the token, the bank said. ETF flows into Ether carry less explanatory power at 18%, but Citi said they have had a larger price impact.
Ether forecasts carry more uncertainty
Citi said its Ether forecasts carry more uncertainty than Bitcoin's because of the difficulty of modeling user activity and how much value accrues from Layer-2 networks. Even modest buying can move Ether's price significantly, the bank said.
Source: Cryptocurrency News
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