Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) could bottom between $50,000 and $60,000 before rallying to $100,000 by year-end, according to major institutional strategists.

The $50,000-$60,000 Bottom Call

Jeff Kendrick, global head of digital asset research at Standard Chartered, says any dip below $60,000 is a buying opportunity with $50,000 as a potential target. 

“I could see us back to $100,000 by the end of this year,” Kendrick said, targeting mid-to-late May as when risk assets might base.

“Everything internally is improving but the price of the stock is going down,” Kendrick added, comparing crypto’s current state to Jeff Bezos describing Amazon in the late 1990s. 

The underlying infrastructure in crypto is performing well, including on-chain borrowing and lending protocols like Aave.

Bitcoin printed a fresh all-time high on October 6, 2025, then collapsed following Trump’s tariff tweet. 

Tech stock weakness drove the plunge to $60,000 two weeks ago, pushing crypto to trade like a weaker version of tech stocks rather than a stronger one seen before Trump's election victory.

The Shallower, Shorter Bear Market

Matt Hougan, chief investment officer at Bitwise Asset Management, said this bear market will be “shallower and maybe somewhat shorter” than previous cycles. 

“This is very different from past crypto winters in two ways,” Hougan explained.

First, 2022 was an existential crypto winter with FTX collapsing and U.S. regulators trying to kill the industry. 

This time, institutional adoption provides a stronger foundation. Fundamentals will likely drive the recovery from this winter rather than narrative.

“I think the ascent will be more grindy and slower because it will be fundamentally driven,” Hougan said. “There’s no existential questions now. It’s just a matter of how fast can the fundamentals require investors to rerate their price.”

The Catalyst Checklist

Hougan outlined multiple catalysts that will contribute to the bear market ending. 

The U.S. passed the CLARITY Act, Bitcoin core developers advanced quantum-proofing work, Kevin Warsh took over as Fed Chair with a more dovish stance than expected, and agentic finance continued to rise.

Stripe’s 2025 investor letter talked about how most internet transactions will be agentic-driven and on blockchains with billions of transactions per second. 

“When you have a company like Stripe saying the future is agentic finance built on blockchain, that’s a pretty good catalyst,” Hougan said.

The Ethereum Trade

Kendrick said Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) will likely outperform for the next couple of years as banks build on blockchain. 

“As banks and others build stuff on blockchain space, it’s almost all going to happen on Ethereum,” Kendrick said, noting BlackRock’s tokenized ETFs on Ethereum as an example.

Michael Walsh, chair of a Standard Chartered Bank subsidiary and Kraken entity, said he’s “pretty bullish” on a consolidation in major coins, with Bitcoin and Ethereum benefiting from institutional adoption.

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