Bitcoin at $500K: Standard Chartered Sees Confirmation in Sovereign Funds' Moves
Date: 2025-05-21 Author: Henry Casey Categories: CRYPTO PAYMENTS
Indirect government investment in Bitcoin increased significantly in the first quarter of 2025, bolstering Standard Chartered analysts' forecast that the cryptocurrency will reach $500K before the end of Donald Trump's presidency in 2029. The main argument was the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) 13-F data, which showed an increase in investments in shares of MicroStrategy (MSTR), a company closely associated with BTC.
The bank's head of digital research, Jeffrey Kendrick, said that these reports confirm their assumption that as institutional interest grows, the price of Bitcoin will approach its target. In contrast to the relatively weak demand for spot ETFs, it was the investments in MSTR by sovereign wealth funds and government organizations that became the key indicator of positive dynamics.
Analysts paid special attention to the actions of such structures as the Government Pension Fund of Norway, the Swiss National Bank, as well as funds from South Korea. These organizations invested the equivalent of about 700 BTC in MSTR in the first quarter. In addition, pension funds from the US states of California, New York, North Carolina and Kentucky jointly acquired a stake corresponding to about 1,000 BTC.
Interestingly, while the Wisconsin Investment Board completely withdrew assets from the IBIT fund from BlackRock (approximately 3,400 BTC), the Mubadala fund from Abu Dhabi, on the contrary, increased its stake in IBIT from 4,700 to 5,000 BTC. However, according to Kendrick, the activity around MSTR is more indicative, as it reflects the desire to bypass restrictions on direct ownership of bitcoin in a number of countries.
Also, funds from France and Saudi Arabia have joined the ranks of new participants in the indirect bitcoin market, investing in MSTR for the first time. Sweden and Liechtenstein, in turn, slightly increased their shares.
Kendrick believes that with a further decrease in bitcoin volatility and the growth of institutional investor confidence, its share in fund portfolios will grow. He emphasizes that it is the regular SEC reports that provide the most reliable information about market trends.
In April, Standard Chartered analysts already recommended buying bitcoin, expecting its rate to reach $120 thousand by June. At the time of publication on May 20, BTC was trading at $105.5 thousand, showing an increase of 24% over the past month.
