Best crypto to buy as Standard Chartered sees BTC hitting $500K

Bitcoin (BTC) price has stabilized around $107,570 on Wednesday, maintaining momentum just 3% below its record high set on January 20. The cryptocurrency broke above the key $105,000 resistance level earlier this week and has since retested and held this level as support multiple times, including on Tuesday. The ability to maintain this level could serve as a springboard for a potential retest of the all-time high, should bullish sentiment persist. Meanwhile, Ethereum (ETH) and Ripple (XRP) also remain firm above their respective support zones, helping to reinforce broader market stability. While Bitcoin remains the foundational asset of the crypto ecosystem and a hedge against macroeconomic uncertainty, its growing institutional adoption and declining volatility have made it less attractive to investors seeking outsized, asymmetric returns. In contrast, early-stage tokens such as Bitcoin Pepe are drawing increased attention from risk-tolerant investors. As sentiment improves across the broader market, such tokens stand to benefit disproportionately from renewed speculative inflows. Bitcoin may rocket to $500,000 Standard Chartered’s Global Head of Digital Assets Research, Geoffrey Kendrick, has reiterated the bank’s long-term bullish stance on Bitcoin, projecting the cryptocurrency could reach $500,000 before the end of US President Donald Trump’s term in 2029. In a report released Tuesday, Kendrick pointed to the latest first-quarter 13F filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as validation of growing institutional and government interest in Bitcoin. These filings, which are required of asset managers overseeing more than $100 million, revealed an uptick in indirect Bitcoin exposure — a trend Kendrick believes supports the thesis that broader institutional adoption is underway. “The quarterly 13F data is the best test of our thesis that BTC will attract new institutional buyer types as the market matures, helping the price reach our USD 500,000 target level,” Kendrick told investors. While ETF exposure reportedly declined in the first quarter, Kendrick described the rise in exposure via Strategy shares — referring to MicroStrategy (MSTR) — as “very encouraging.” He noted that some government-related entities may be using MicroStrategy’s stock as a workaround to gain Bitcoin exposure in jurisdictions where direct holdings are restricted. “We believe that in some cases, MSTR holdings by government entities reflect a desire to gain Bitcoin exposure where local regulations do not allow direct BTC holdings,” he said. Kendrick’s $500,000 price target remains among the most ambitious on Wall Street, signaling confidence in a long-term adoption cycle that increasingly intersects with public-sector interest and regulatory accommodation. Why should you look at Bitcoin Pepe as BTC looks to make new highs A renewed rally in Bitcoin, underpinned by surging institutional demand, has historically triggered broader momentum across the cryptocurrency market, and the current uptrend is proving no different. As capital flows back into the ecosystem, speculative tokens, particularly meme coins, are once again drawing heightened interest. Positioned squarely at the intersection of meme culture and infrastructure innovation, Bitcoin Pepe is emerging as a standout contender in this speculative cycle. As the first meme-centric Layer 2 on the Bitcoin network, the project blends Bitcoin’s security with the scalability of Solana-like architecture. Bitcoin Pepe has also announced several strategic partnerships aimed at expanding its Layer 2 ecosystem for meme culture on Bitcoin. These include Super Meme for secure meme coin launches via PEP-20, Catamoto for BASE chain fair launches, and Plena Finance to potentially integrate BPEP into mobile-first DeFi. The project also joins hands with GETE Network to potentially bring BPEP into cross-chain Web3 gaming. Together, these collaborations strengthen Bitcoin Pepe’s infrastructure, extend its reach across ecosystems, and bring practical use cases to its token beyond speculation. Investor enthusiasm has already taken shape, with Bitcoin Pepe ’s presale raising over $10 million to date. The BPEP token is priced at $0.0359, and the presale is scheduled to conclude on May 31, 2025. An exchange listing is expected shortly thereafter, a development that could serve as a short-term catalyst for price discovery. The post Best crypto to buy as Standard Chartered sees BTC hitting $500K appeared first on Invezz

Source: Invezz