Standard Chartered says bitcoin’s dip below $100,000 'seems inevitable' by this weekend

Bitcoin's slide below $100,000 "seems inevitable" by this weekend, according to Standard Chartered’s global head of digital assets research Geoffrey Kendrick, who said the decline could be short-lived and present a buying opportunity.

Kendrick said bitcoin's rally to an all-time high above $126,000 on Oct. 6 was interrupted by renewed U.S.–China trade-war fears that triggered a selloff on Oct. 10.

"The question now is how far does bitcoin need to fall before finding a base," he wrote, adding that "a dip below $100,000 seems inevitable, although the dump may be short-lived."

Kendrick said he is monitoring gold-to-bitcoin flows as a key signal for when bitcoin might stabilize and move higher. A sharp gold selloff earlier this week coincided with an intraday rebound in bitcoin — a move he described as a "sell gold, buy bitcoin" flow. He added that such rotations could become more frequent, "and further such evidence would be constructive for a bitcoin low being formed."

Kendrick also pointed to liquidity conditions and technical support levels as indicators of a near-term turnaround. Several liquidity measures have been tightening, he said, adding: "The question for me is when does the Fed [the U.S. Federal Reserve] see them as 'tight' and react by either acknowledging said measures or stopping QT [quantitative tightening]."

Kendrick noted that bitcoin’s 50-week moving average — a key technical level — has held since early 2023, when the cryptocurrency traded near $25,000, and he had forecast it would reach $100,000 by end-2024.

Kendrick said that investors should "stay nimble and ready to buy the dip below $100,000 if it comes," calling it "the last time bitcoin is EVER below" that level.

Bitcoin is currently trading around $108,200, down about 4% in the past 24 hours, according to The Block’s bitcoin price page.

Kendrick’s year-end target for bitcoin remains $200,000, and his 2028 projection stands at $500,000.