Standard Chartered calls crypto cycle low

TLDR

Standard Chartered says Bitcoins drop to about $59,000 likely marked this cycles low and that crypto winter is over.

1. The banks analyst Geoffrey Kendrick calls $59,000 the Bitcoin cycle bottom, about 53% below the prior $126,000 all?time high.
2. His view hinges on fading ETF selling, the SpaceX IPO passing, and potential easing in oil and geopolitics, but other research desks still see room for lower lows.
3. Confirmation depends on data: ETF flows, oil and yields, and whether Bitcoin can hold above the $59,000$60,000 zone over time.

Deep Dive

1. Standard Chartereds Call

Geoffrey Kendrick, Standard Chartereds global head of digital asset research, argues that Bitcoins recent slide to roughly $59,000 was the cycle low, a 53% drawdown from its peak near $126,000, and declares Winter is over for crypto asset prices. Reports from outlets like Decrypt and Investing.com quote him saying he does not expect Bitcoin to fall below $60,000 again and that this area will look like the buying zone in hindsight. He maintains a bullish medium?term target, with multiple pieces noting a bank forecast of Bitcoin around $100,000 by the end of 2026 and an expectation that Ethereum could outperform if the recovery takes hold.

2. Drivers And Skepticism

Kendrick links the supposed bottom to macro and flow dynamics: heavy selling of spot Bitcoin ETFs to raise cash for the huge SpaceX IPO should ease now that the listing is done, and a potential U.S.Iran peace deal that caps oil prices could lower yields and reduce macro pressure on risk assets, supporting crypto. He also points to the possibility of renewed corporate treasury buying and a turn back to net ETF inflows as confirmation triggers. However, Galaxy Researchs Alex Thorn counters that only a minority of historical bottom signals have fired and models a possible Bitcoin floor in the $40,000$46,000 range, while on?chain analysts at CryptoQuant describe current levels as a valuation floor candidate, not a confirmed cycle bottom.

3. Key Signals To Monitor

Several data points matter more than the headline call itself.

1. Spot Bitcoin ETF flows: a sustained shift from multi?session outflows to consistent net inflows would back the bottom is in thesis.
2. Macro conditions: falling oil prices and stable or easing Treasury yields would support risk assets broadly.
3. Price structure: Bitcoin repeatedly defending and building higher lows above the $59,000$60,000 area, especially through volatility shocks, would strengthen the case that it was the cycle low.

Conclusion

Standard Chartereds cycle low call signals growing institutional belief that this drawdown could be shallower than past 80% crashes, but other analysts still see scope for another leg lower. The practical edge comes from tracking ETF flows, macro pressures, and Bitcoins behavior around the $59,000 zone rather than assuming any single forecast will be right.