The banking giant wrote that SEC data supported 500 thousand dollars in Bitcoin.

British banking giant Standard Chartered wrote that SEC data supports forecasts that Bitcoin could reach 500,000 dollars by 2028.

The bank's analyst Geoff Kendrick mentioned in the latest report sent to clients about the recently published 13F filings submitted to the SEC. Based on the data disclosed in these filings, Kendrick commented, "In the first quarter of this year, government institutions indirectly increased their positions in Bitcoin by purchasing Strategy shares. This trend supports our prediction that Bitcoin will reach 500 thousand dollars before Trump leaves office."

According to Kendrick, Bitcoin will find more space in portfolios in parallel with the access of institutional investors and decreasing volatility, and the current low share of BTC could elevate towards the 'optimal' level of portfolios, driving the price to $500,000.

The analyst stated that the 13F filings showed weak direct Bitcoin ETF investments in the first quarter, but the increase in positioning in Strategy stocks was very encouraging, and added:

"Quarterly 13F data has been the best test for our thesis that Bitcoin will reach the 500k level by attracting new types of institutional buyers in a maturing market. When institutions buy Bitcoin, prices typically rise."

Recently, institutional investments have changed as follows:

• The investment board of the state of Wisconsin in the USA has completely closed its position of 3,400 BTC in the BlackRock spot Bitcoin ETF.
• Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala increased its stake in the BlackRock spot Bitcoin ETF from 4,700 BTC to 5,000 BTC.
• The Norwegian Pension Fund, the Swiss Central Bank, and various pension funds in South Korea have each increased their positions in Strategy shares by approximately 700 BTC.
• In the US, the retirement funds of California, New York, North Carolina, and Kentucky purchased a total of 1000 BTC in Strategy shares.
• While small increases were observed in Sweden and Liechtenstein, France and Saudi Arabia purchased Strategy shares for the first time, albeit in small amounts.

Kendrick stated that these increases indicate that "in some cases, governments cannot invest directly in BTC due to legal restrictions and prefer the indirect method."

Published: May 20, 2025 17:03