Citi Boosts BTC Price Forecast to $132K as Institutional Demand Surges

Citi, a major financial institution, has updated its price targets for Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH). The bank now predicts that BTC will reach $132,000 by year-end, up from an initial forecast of $181,000. For ETH, Citi expects the price to hit $4,500.

Citi analyst Alex Saunders attributes the expected gains to increased investor demand, driven by institutional investors and financial advisers allocating more funds to cryptocurrencies, thanks to a favorable regulatory environment in the US.

The bank favors Bitcoin over Ether due to its larger size, longer history, and clearer 'digital-gold' narrative. Citi notes that Bitcoin is currently trading above its adoption model estimate of $83,000, with a range of $70,000 to $95,000 driven by ETF flows and regulation.

Citi's forecasts carry more uncertainty for Ether due to difficulties in modeling user activity and the value generated from Layer-2 networks. The bank emphasizes that even modest buying can significantly impact Ether prices.