Crypto · · 3 min read
Citi lifts bitcoin target to $113,000 and forecasts $5bn inflows
Citi has raised its bitcoin and ether forecasts while expecting cryptocurrency investment products to attract $5 billion over the next year.
Citigroup has raised its 12-month price targets for bitcoin and ether, while predicting that cryptocurrency investment products will receive $5 billion in net inflows over the same period. The revised outlook reflects improving market activity, more supportive economic conditions and renewed demand for exchange-traded funds.
According to reporting by news.bitcoin.com, citing Reuters, Citi’s September 30 research note lifted its bitcoin forecast to $113,000 from $82,000. Its ether target increased to $3,028 from $2,240. The changes represent projected increases of about 37.8% for bitcoin and 35.2% for ether compared with the bank’s previous estimates.
The forecast comes after a recovery in cryptocurrency demand, although both assets remained below their levels at the start of the year. Bitcoin was down roughly 3% for the year, while ether had fallen about 9%. Over the previous three months, however, bitcoin had gained nearly 40% and ether approximately 68%.
What is driving Citi’s revised view
Citi analyst Alex Saunders said the bank’s assessment combines three areas: network and market activity, broader economic conditions, and flows into exchange-traded funds. He also pointed to Securities and Exchange Commission rulemaking as a factor in the improved mood surrounding digital assets.
The bank’s analysis linked renewed interest to fears that fiat currencies could lose value, as well as to investors’ response to developments at the SEC. Citi also said purchases of longer-dated Treasury bonds had contributed to stronger cryptocurrency momentum.
The bank’s new base case assumes $5 billion of inflows during the next 12 months, replacing its earlier assumption of no net buying. Citi expects advisers to raise their exposure gradually through investment products rather than through a sudden rush into direct holdings.
Those products allow investors to gain exposure through ordinary brokerage accounts. This differs from owning bitcoin directly, where the asset is held and transferred across the decentralised Bitcoin network. Citi’s expectation is therefore for a slower, more consistent expansion of allocations as advisers become more comfortable with the asset class.
ETF demand has strengthened, then softened
Recent fund-flow data provided part of the basis for Citi’s change in outlook. During the week ending September 25, US bitcoin funds recorded $2.39 billion in net inflows, their strongest weekly result since October 2025. Ether products attracted a further $689.88 million, suggesting that the recovery was not limited to bitcoin.
The pace moderated at the beginning of the following week. On September 28, bitcoin funds still posted a combined $31.07 million inflow, extending their run of positive sessions to eight. BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF took in $54.84 million, although withdrawals from other products reduced the overall total. Ether funds added about $17.1 million.
Bitcoin products recorded another positive day on September 29, bringing in $66.19 million and extending the sequence to nine sessions. BlackRock’s fund received $51.09 million, while the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF collected $33.24 million. Ether funds moved the other way, losing $2.81 million and ending a seven-session run of inflows.
That bitcoin streak ended on September 30, according to data from Farside Investors. Funds experienced $148.7 million in net withdrawals. Fidelity’s Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund accounted for $125.6 million of the outflows, while the Bitwise Bitcoin ETF lost $13.6 million and BlackRock’s product recorded $9.5 million in withdrawals.
Regulation remains an important risk
Citi’s assessment also reflects an unsettled regulatory environment. The US Senate failed to advance the Clarity Act, a proposed bill addressing the structure of digital-asset markets. The bank nevertheless judged later SEC announcements to have reduced some of the pessimism that followed the bill’s failure.
That support is not guaranteed to last. Citi warned that a change in administration in 2028 could lead to a reversal of agency rules, although that possibility falls outside the period covered by its current forecast.
Beyond bitcoin and ether, Citi expects tokenised securities and other real-world assets to expand sharply. The bank estimates that the market could grow from about $17 billion today to $5.5 trillion by 2030. That projection points to a wider financial-market role for blockchain-based products, even as near-term cryptocurrency flows remain vulnerable to changes in sentiment, regulation and the wider economy.