Key Notes
- Citi raised its 12-month Bitcoin price target to $113,000 from $82,000, citing renewed ETF inflows and a more supportive market backdrop.
- The bank expects advisers and brokerages to increase Bitcoin allocations gradually, bringing a slower but steadier flow of capital into the market.
- Citi also raised its 12-month Ether price forecast to $3,028 from $2,240, increasing its previous target by about 35%.
Citigroup has raised its 12-month Bitcoin price forecast to $113,000 from $82,000, citing a recovery in exchange-traded fund inflows and a more supportive market backdrop. Reuters reported the revision on October 1, citing a bank note dated September 30.
The new target extends into 2027. The $31,000 increase represents a roughly 38% upgrade to Citi’s previous forecast, rather than a projected return from Bitcoin’s current market price.
ETF Allocations Support the Upgrade
Citi expects advisers and brokerages to increase Bitcoin allocations gradually, bringing a slower but steadier flow of capital into crypto, according to Reuters. The bank also lifted its 12-month Ether target to $3,028 from $2,240.
Citigroup reported approximately $2.895 trillion in total assets at June 30 in its financial supplement. That figure measures the group’s balance sheet, rather than assets earmarked for digital currencies.
Citi Sees Regulatory Progress Behind the Rally
The upgrade follows earlier public comments from Citi’s macro strategists about Bitcoin’s resilience. In a September podcast, recorded on September 21 and published the next day, Alex Saunders, the bank’s head of global quantitative macro strategy, discussed why crypto had continued rising despite a more hawkish Federal Reserve.
Saunders said expectations for Securities and Exchange Commission rulemaking had helped sustain interest even after the Clarity Act encountered a Senate setback. He also pointed to Treasury bond-buyback announcements as a catalyst for Bitcoin and gold, while acknowledging the difficulty of separating their effect from regulatory developments.
His assessment emphasized the role of sentiment and trend-following in crypto markets. Those earlier remarks provide context for Citi’s changing outlook; the $113,000 forecast comes from the later note reported by Reuters.
Inflation and the Fed Remain in Focus
The latest US inflation figures add another piece to that backdrop. The Bureau of Economic Analysis reported that August core PCE prices rose 0.2% from July and 3.0% from a year earlier. The broader PCE index increased 3.4% annually.
CoinScreamer’s coverage of the inflation release tracked Bitcoin’s brief move above $85,000 on September 30 and its subsequent retreat. That reversal illustrates the distinction between a favorable economic surprise and a sustained advance in the market.
The Federal Reserve’s next policy meeting is scheduled for October 27–28. Citi’s target sets out a view over the following year; the path toward it still depends on whether investor demand and the macroeconomic conditions behind that view persist.
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