Wall Street Goes Bananas for Bitcoin: Banks Bet Big

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Bitcoin isn’t just for basement-dwelling gadgeteers anymore, folks. The world’s biggest banks have ditched the popcorn and slapped six-figure price tags on Bitcoin, turning a quirky cult into a Broadway spectacle. Citi, JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Standard Chartered, and TD Cowen are all predicting BTC will strut far beyond today’s price, with projections clustering between 140,000 and 200,000. It’s Wall Street selling tickets to a moon-bound rollercoaster, and the bankers brought the briefcases for the ride.

Banks And Their 6-Figure Predictions For Bitcoin

Not long ago, the words “fraud” and “Ponzi scheme” were the most popular insults Wall Street hurled at Bitcoin. The very institutions now projecting six-figure targets spent years trying to talk investors out of the asset entirely. The most interesting projection comes from Citi: base case 143,000, bull case 189,000. The forecast hinges on stronger institutional demand and the notion that Bitcoin can keep absorbing capital through ETFs, like a sponge with a PhD in finance.

JPMorgan’s outlook is similarly bullish, with analysts pointing to a 170,000 scenario based on Bitcoin’s value relative to gold. The bank’s model suggests BTC still has room to close the gap with gold as a store-of-value, especially if ETF demand continues to swell-more ETFs, more “mooo-lah.”

Goldman Sachs has highlighted its view as a scenario worth noting, and the number is also worth cheering. Goldman’s digital assets team sees potential for Bitcoin to approach 200,000 in 2026, which sounds like a prophecy written on a napkin at a deli.

Standard Chartered has the longest view of the group. The bank revised its 2026 year-end target to approximately 100,000, citing reduced buying from digital asset treasury companies and slowing ETF inflows. However, Standard Chartered still maintains a long-term projection of 500,000 by 2030. TD Cowen rounds out the group with a target of 140,000, which is the lowest prediction from the bunch.

Big Banks Moving Into BTC?

The contrast between Wall Street’s old guard and its current research output is deliciously dramatic, especially with JPMorgan. Back in September 2017, when Bitcoin was trading around $4,200, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon called the cryptocurrency a fraud at an investor conference, compared it to tulip bulbs, and vowed to fire in a second any trader caught dealing in it. It’s a good thing the script has a sense of humor-and a very long memory.

However, times have changed, and reports say JPMorgan Chase & Co. is in the process of offering cryptocurrency trading services to institutional clients. Goldman Sachs also disclosed in a regulatory filing that it owns around $1 billion worth of Bitcoin, with CEO David Solomon confirming that he personally owns a small amount of the asset. The punchline? The banking world is now dabbling in BTC like a magician pulling rabbits out of a hat.

Citi, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan, and Goldman have all announced new Bitcoin-related products over the past three months, spanning custody, trading, ETF filings, and direct purchases. The banks that once called BTC a fraud are now modeling its path to $200,000. According to crypto analyst Crypto Patel, that’s not adoption. That’s capitulation-with a chandelier and a marching band.

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2026-04-27 12:28