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Standard Chartered's head of digital asset research, Geoff Kendrick, suggests Bitcoin could approach its all-time high of $126,000 by year-end, with the recovery potentially accelerating after October 6. He notes the recent rally has been fueled by short liquidations and recovering inflows into spot Bitcoin ETFs, adding that low open interest leaves room for more investors to return. Kendrick now sees a risk that his year-end forecast of $100,000 may be "too low." This follows a February adjustment where Standard Chartered lowered its Bitcoin target from $150,000 to $100,000 and its Ether target from $7,500 to $4,000. Other analysts also signal the bear market may be ending, with some pointing to potential bottoming patterns. Bitcoin is currently trading around $76,844, up 24% over the past week.

Standard Chartered has revised its Bitcoin price forecast upwards following a recent market rally. The bank's head of digital asset research, Geoff Kendrick, stated that his previous year-end target of $100,000 now appears "significantly too low." He suggested that after October 6th, Bitcoin's surge could intensify, potentially approaching its previous all-time high of $126,000 by year-end. Kendrick attributed the recent price increase primarily to short-position liquidations. However, he noted that a recovery in inflows into spot Bitcoin ETFs indicates the rally may be broadening to a wider investor base. This renewed optimism marks a shift from an earlier forecast where Kendrick had lowered his year-end target from $150,000 to $100,000 and predicted a drop to $50,000 before a recovery.

The Kingdom of Bhutan has transferred 490.87 BTC, valued at approximately $32.74 million, to new cryptocurrency wallets within the last day, according to Onchain Lens. The largest single transaction involved 485 BTC worth about $32.31 million. While the Bhutanese government has previously moved bitcoin to wallets linked to trading firms for sales, the destination of these latest transfers is unclear. Analysts have not identified the owners of the new wallets or confirmed the moves are related to selling the coins. This follows an earlier transfer of 300 BTC ($19.28 million) on August 18 for sale. Bhutan's national bitcoin reserves, initially built through cost-effective mining powered by hydropower, have significantly declined. Holdings reportedly dropped from over 13,000 BTC in October 2024 to just 4,453 BTC by March 2026, with the sell-off continuing. The transfers coincide with a bitcoin price recovery, with the cryptocurrency trading near $77,600 at the time of reporting, marking significant daily and weekly gains.

U.S. Treasury Buys Up Government Debt: Cryptocurrencies Surge Amid Treasury Yield Plunge Bitcoin rose nearly 19% between August 14-21, 2026, reaching a new 2.5-month high, with its best single-day gain in six months occurring on August 19. The primary catalyst was a U.S. Treasury announcement to at least double purchases of long-term government bonds, causing Treasury yields to crash and capital to flow into risk assets like Bitcoin. Positive rhetoric from President Donald Trump regarding crypto legislation and massive short liquidations (over $2.1bn vs. only $48.19m in longs) fueled the rally. Spot Bitcoin ETFs saw their first weekly inflow since January, totaling $1bn, led by BlackRock's IBIT. Ethereum surged over 26% during the same period, breaking above $2,300 for the first time since May, driven by spiking trading volume and a $291.47m inflow to spot Ethereum ETFs. Development progressed for the upcoming "Glamsterdam" hard fork. Other major beneficiaries included Dogecoin (+20.12%), Zcash (+31.28% on news of Grayscale's latest spot ETF filing), and Ethena (+59.5% following a $1bn lending program launch with FalconX). Overall, the week was marked by a broad crypto market surge fueled by the Treasury's bond-buying policy, increased exchange volumes, and forced short covering.

Spot BTC and ETH ETFs see their best week since October 2025 For the week of August 17-21, U.S.-registered spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs attracted $2.61 billion, the best weekly inflow since October 2025. Bitcoin funds received $1.92 billion (73% of the total), while Ethereum ETFs saw inflows of $697.47 million. On August 21 alone, spot Bitcoin ETFs attracted $307 million, marking five consecutive positive trading sessions. BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) led with $239 million, followed by Fidelity's Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) with $30.19 million. The total net assets of all U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs reached $96.07 billion, representing 6.17% of Bitcoin's market cap. Spot Ethereum ETFs attracted $185 million on August 21, led by the iShares Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHA) with $151 million in inflows. The total net assets for all U.S. spot Ethereum ETFs stood at $14.30 billion.