Standard Chartered Reaffirms $100,000 Bitcoin Target by End of 2026

Kevin O'Leary has started buying new crypto positions ahead of what he believes will be the market's next cycle, and his comparison between Bitcoin and institutional gold allocations has produced an eye-watering potential price. Speaking at the Avalanche Summit in New York, O'Leary told The Block he is "back in the saddle buying new positions, putting my bets on for this next cycle," though he did not identify the assets or disclose the value of the positions. He said Bitcoin could eventually represent between 1% and 3% of the capital institutions allocate to alternative assets, drawing a comparison with gold, and Forbes calculated that such a scenario could value Bitcoin between $253,000 and $760,000. The upper estimate would give Bitcoin a market capitalization of roughly $15 trillion, while the lower figure would produce a valuation close to $5 trillion; with Bitcoin recently trading near $80,000, reaching $253,000 would require an increase of approximately 216%, and a move to $760,000 would represent an advance of about 850%. The $760,000 figure is considerably higher than O'Leary's actual public forecast of $150,000 to $200,000 in April, which hinged on the CLARITY Act establishing a clearer regulatory framework, a catalyst removed after the Senate rejected the bill's motion to proceed. O'Leary also said in an April interview with Fox Business that investors could capture approximately 97% of the crypto market's volatility by holding Bitcoin and Ethereum, and that he had reduced a portfolio that once spanned 27 crypto positions primarily to BTC and Ethereum alongside the USDC stablecoin.