Yazılar

Citi Raises Ether Forecast, Trims Bitcoin Outlook as Investor Preferences Shift

/in /tarafından

Citigroup has revised its year-end cryptocurrency forecasts, raising its target for ether (ETH) while slightly cutting its outlook for bitcoin (BTC), citing changing investor behaviour and macroeconomic headwinds.

The Wall Street bank said that investors are increasingly gravitating toward ether’s yield-generating features, while bitcoin continues to rely primarily on price appreciation for returns.

NEW TARGETS AND PRICE OUTLOOK

Citi set a year-end target of $133,000 for bitcoin, representing a 12% upside from its current trading price of around $118,747, as of 05:30 GMT.
For ether, the bank now expects the token to reach $4,500 by year-end — a 3% gain from its current level of $4,375.

The brokerage maintains a positive long-term view, forecasting 12-month targets of $181,000 for bitcoin and $5,440 for ether.

BITCOIN: STRONG NARRATIVE, MIXED MACRO HEADWINDS

Citi slightly reduced its bitcoin forecast due to offsetting macroeconomic factors, including a stronger U.S. dollar and weaker gold prices, which tend to reduce demand for alternative stores of value.
Still, analysts said bitcoin’s “digital gold” narrative remains robust, continuing to attract institutional and retail inflows as global interest in hard assets persists.

Citi’s base case assumes year-end inflows of roughly $7.5 billion into bitcoin, while its bull case depends on rising equity markets and stronger demand from digital asset funds.
Under its bear case, however, the bank warned that a global recession could push bitcoin prices down to $83,000.

ETHER: INSTITUTIONAL INTEREST AND STAKING GAINS

Ether’s upgraded outlook comes after a sharp summer price rally, fueled by institutional buying and ETF-related inflows. Citi analysts said ether’s potential for yield generation through staking and decentralised finance (DeFi) continues to attract capital from long-term investors.

Citi expects ether to remain supported in 2025 by strong inflows from ETFs and digital asset treasuries, which have emerged as a growing segment of crypto demand.
While ether’s downside is harder to quantify, given uncertainties around network usage and value accrual, analysts said the token benefits from a broader use case compared with bitcoin.

INVESTOR FLOWS WILL DRIVE YEAR-END PERFORMANCE

Both cryptocurrencies, Citi noted, are trading above user-activity-based metrics, highlighting the speculative component of current valuations. Sustained investor demand and macro stability will be essential to keeping prices elevated into 2026.

“Ether’s yield advantage and utility-driven narrative are drawing steady inflows,” Citi wrote, “while bitcoin continues to hold its place as digital gold — but faces short-term macro friction.”

Morgan Stanley to add crypto trading to E*Trade via Zerohash partnership

/in /tarafından

Morgan Stanley will enable cryptocurrency trading on its E*Trade platform starting in the first half of 2026, the bank confirmed Tuesday. The service will launch through a partnership with Zerohash, a digital asset infrastructure provider.

At rollout, E*Trade clients will be able to trade bitcoin, ether, and solana, with the potential for more tokens to be added later. A Morgan Stanley spokesperson said the move reflects growing client demand for access to digital assets alongside traditional investments.

The expansion comes as the global crypto market swells to about $3.9 trillion, led by bitcoin ($2.25 trillion) and ether ($506 billion), according to CoinMarketCap. Once dismissed as speculative, crypto has become a mainstream asset class, attracting Wall Street banks, brokers, and retail platforms.

Morgan Stanley’s push follows rivals:

  • Robinhood offers trading in a wide range of tokens.

  • Charles Schwab provides ETFs tied to bitcoin and ether.

The supportive regulatory stance under President Donald Trump has also accelerated Wall Street’s embrace of crypto products.

Meanwhile, Zerohash announced it reached unicorn status after raising $104 million in a funding round led by Interactive Brokers, with Morgan Stanley, SoFi, and others also investing.

By integrating crypto into E*Trade, Morgan Stanley is positioning itself to compete directly with retail trading platforms while tapping into one of finance’s fastest-growing markets.

Standard Chartered Raises Year-End Ether Forecast to $7,500

/in /tarafından

Standard Chartered has raised its year-end target for ether to $7,500, up from $4,000, citing stronger industry engagement and increased holdings of the cryptocurrency in recent months. The new forecast represents a nearly 60% premium over ether’s recent high of $4,700.

Ether, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency, offers staking opportunities, allowing holders to earn rewards by supporting the Ethereum network, unlike Bitcoin which relies solely on price appreciation. Ether has surged more than 50% over the past month, boosted by the passage of the Genius Act, which establishes a regulatory framework for dollar-pegged stablecoins.

Geoff Kendrick, Standard Chartered’s head of digital assets research, highlighted that growth in the stablecoin sector—projected to expand eightfold by 2028—would drive increased transaction fees on Ethereum, boosting demand for ether. The brokerage also raised its 2028 forecast for ether to $25,000 and noted that Ethereum treasury companies could hold up to 10% of circulating ether, supporting long-term growth.