Standard Chartered has lowered its near-term price forecasts for digital assets, warning of further downside before a recovery later this year. 

Geoff Kendrick, StanChart’s global head of digital assets research, said recent price action has been “challenging, to say the least,” and believes that further losses are likely in the coming months.

“We expect further price capitulation in the next few months,” he said, projecting Bitcoin and Ethereum to fall as low as $50,000 and $1,400, respectively. 

The latest sell-off has been less extreme than in 2022 and has not triggered the collapse of any major platforms, suggesting “that the asset class is maturing and becoming more resilient,” Kendrick wrote. 

Holdings of digital asset ETFs have fallen in an “orderly manner,” he said, with the average Bitcoin ETF holding now down about 25%. The analyst estimates that Bitcoin ETF holdings have declined by almost 100,000 coins from their October 2025 peak. With the average ETF purchase price around $90,000, many investors are in “sharp unrealised loss territory,” Kendrick noted. 

Against that backdrop, the analyst argues that ETF holders are “more likely to sell, rather than buy the dip, for now.” He therefore sees potential for Bitcoin to fall to, or just below, $50,000 over the next few months. If that level is reached, Ethereum could bottom around $1,400.

Macro conditions are also seen as unsupportive. Kendrick points to mixed U.S. economic data and says markets expect no rate cuts before a change in Federal Reserve leadership in June, leaving digital assets vulnerable to weaker inflows.

Despite the near-term downgrade, Standard Chartered maintains a constructive longer-term view. “Once the lows have been reached, we expect the asset class to recover for the rest of 2026,” he said in the note. 

Kendrick now forecasts Bitcoin at $100,000 by end-2026, down from $150,000 previously, and Ethereum at $4,000, versus $7,500 earlier. Long-term targets through 2030 remain unchanged.