Cryptocurrency chills continue! "Bitcoin Bull Market Flag Bear" slashes 2026 target price, warns Bitcoin may drop to $50,000

Crypto Finance APP reports that Standard Chartered, known as the “Bitcoin Bull Market Flagbearer,” has warned that Bitcoin will further weaken and has significantly lowered its year-end 2026 Bitcoin target price. After Coinbase Global Inc. (COIN.US), the largest U.S. cryptocurrency exchange, unexpectedly turned to a loss in Q4, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies faced heavy selling pressure during Friday’s Asian trading session.

Standard Chartered warns that Bitcoin may continue to weaken. Coupled with the impact of Coinbase’s Q4 loss on an already subdued market sentiment, cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum remain under persistent pressure. The institution has sharply reduced its 2026 end-of-year Bitcoin price forecast from $150,000 to $100,000, warning that before stabilizing, the cryptocurrency could fall to about $50,000.

As of press time, Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market cap, traded slightly above $66,000 during Friday’s Asian session; earlier during New York trading hours, it dropped as much as 4% to $65,079, the lowest level this week. Ethereum was around $1,940, also near its weekly low.

Last week, as Bitcoin briefly fell below $60,000, market selling intensified, marking the worst single-day decline since November 2022. This large-scale sell-off also indicated liquidity issues in the crypto market, with Bitcoin facing a crisis of confidence. After a brief strong rebound last Friday, Bitcoin has since fluctuated between $65,000 and $70,000. A senior analyst at Compass Point said that after a recent irrational panic sell-off, this largest crypto may be approaching a bottom.

Latest data shows that Bitcoin has just received new buy support from some of its largest holders, but demand remains narrow enough to raise questions about whether this signals a recovery in risk appetite for the crypto market or is merely a move by large holders to cut losses.

The so-called “Bitcoin whale” wallets accumulated about 53,000 Bitcoin over the past week, the largest buy-in since November; prior to this, these whales had experienced weeks of heavy selling. Such buying after a significant price decline helped stabilize the price, even as most institutional investors remained on the sidelines. Industry research firm Glassnode reports that wallets holding over 1,000 Bitcoin increased their holdings by over $4 billion worth of Bitcoin during this period, breaking a months-long trend of net selling, which had caused Bitcoin to drop about 40% from its October high.

What signals are there? “Bitcoin Bull Market Flagbearer” warns of further weakness and a lowered target price

Geoffrey Kendrick, Head of Global Digital Asset Research at Standard Chartered, wrote in a research report: “We expect further sharp price capitulation in the coming months.” He pointed out that continuous net outflows from ETFs and the weakening macroeconomic environment and market risk appetite in the U.S. are contributing factors.

Standard Chartered, known as the “Bitcoin Bull Market Flagbearer” in the crypto space, accurately predicted Bitcoin’s unprecedented bull run at the end of 2023. Recently, the bank has repeatedly supported Bitcoin, but its latest research shows a cautious stance on Bitcoin investment. As one of the early and long-term optimistic institutions about Bitcoin’s bull market, Standard Chartered has sharply lowered its 2026 year-end Bitcoin forecast from $150,000 to $100,000—just a few months ago, it was $300,000—and warns that this largest market cap cryptocurrency could even plunge to $50,000 before fully stabilizing.

Last week, Bitcoin briefly dipped below $60,000, down more than 45% from its October peak of over $126,000, repeatedly failing to sustain rebounds, indicating diminishing speculative demand. During the same period, the broader crypto market lost nearly $2 trillion in market value.

IG Australia market analyst Tony Sycamore stated in a report: “From a technical perspective, as long as Bitcoin holds above the 58,000-dollar level near the 200-week moving average—which it successfully rebounded from last Friday—there is room for recovery and a move up to the 73,000–75,000 dollar resistance zone. However, if it continues to break below the key 60,000/58,000 dollar range, it could open the door to deeper declines, targeting the next key support zone around 40,000 dollars.”

Damien Loh, Chief Investment Officer at Ericsenz Capital, said that market sentiment is being affected by concerns over risk assets, such as large-scale sell-offs in other asset classes like software stocks, which could open greater downside space for cryptocurrencies.

Coinbase’s Challenges Impact Cryptocurrency Prices

Meanwhile, Coinbase Global Inc. reported a loss of $667 million in Q4, with total revenue plunging by over 20% to $1.8 billion, well below market expectations, highlighting the impact of falling crypto prices on trading activity.

This is just one of the multiple challenges Coinbase faced on Thursday.

Before the official earnings release, some customers reported issues with buying, selling, and transferring on the company’s website, prompting Coinbase to post on social media platform X to reassure users that “your funds are safe,” and later announced that “the issue has been resolved.”

At the same time, Wall Street research firm Monness, Crespi, Hardt & Co. sharply downgraded Coinbase’s stock rating to “Sell,” stating that given the typically prolonged crypto bear markets, the assumption of a steady market recovery is “foolish” and “superficial.” Under multiple negative factors, Coinbase’s stock has fallen for three consecutive days, down about 8% to $141. Year-to-date, the stock has declined by 37%.