Citi expects Bitcoin's price to rise by 35%. What will drive the growth of cryptocurrencies?

Citigroup expects the price of Bitcoin to rise by approximately 35% from current levels. The brokerage firm raised its price target for the leading cryptocurrency by nearly 38%—from $82,000 to $113,000. Analysts also raised the target price for the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization—Ethereum—from $2,240 to $3,028 (suggesting growth potential of approximately 12%). The brokerage firm attributed the revision to increased activity in the crypto market and a resumption of capital inflows into sector-specific ETFs, according to Reuters.

On October 1, Bitcoin was trading around $85,000; Ethereum was priced at about $2,700.

Citi expects the inflow of funds into cryptocurrency assets to resume, albeit at a slower but steady pace, according to Reuters. Financial advisors and brokerage firms are gradually increasing their investments in Bitcoin, analysts explained. As a result, Citi forecasts an inflow of about $5 billion into Bitcoin ETFs over the next 12 months.

The failure of the U.S. Senate to pass a bill establishing rules for cryptocurrency trading—known as the Clarity Act—has limited the scope for market regulation; however, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced new rules regarding crypto assets, which helped ease negative investor sentiment, Citi noted. The bank also pointed to the U.S. Treasury’s program to repurchase long-term bonds as one of the factors that helped restore momentum in the crypto market.

Against this backdrop, Bitcoin and Ethereum have risen by approximately 40% and 68%, respectively, over the past three months. This has reduced their year-to-date losses to about 4% and 9%, according to Reuters.

Citi’s current forecast differs significantly from its estimates at the beginning of the year. The bank started 2026 with a price target for Bitcoin of $143,000, then lowered it to $112,000 in March—after progress on the Clarity Act stalled in the Senate Banking Committee. In July, Citi lowered its Bitcoin price target once again—to $82,000, according to Yahoo Finance. Citi attributed this latest reduction to weak demand for Bitcoin ETFs and concerns that digital asset management firms might become net sellers.

Analysts' new price target is $113,000—about 10% below Bitcoin's all-time high, which exceeded $126,000 in October 2025.

According to data from the investment research firm SoSoValue, as reported by Yahoo Finance, net inflows into Bitcoin ETFs have totaled $875.9 million since the beginning of the year and approximately $3.3 billion over the 12 months through September 2026.

Following the failure of the Clarity Act, the crypto industry has seen faster and more industry-friendly regulatory decisions, according to Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hogan, as reported by Benzinga. Hogan noted that following the vote, Bitcoin rose 8%, Ethereum rose 7%, and some other crypto assets saw significantly stronger gains. For example, NEAR gained 104%, and Uniswap rose 49%.

According to the expert, the crypto industry has opted out of the long-term regulatory certainty that the Clarity Act could have provided—in exchange for faster action by regulators. In particular, exchanges retained the ability to pay rewards on stablecoin balances, and without a single national license, major platforms such as Coinbase and Kraken maintained an advantage over new entrants. At the same time, Hogan pointed out the risk of a change in the U.S. presidential administration in 2029: it could appoint new leadership at regulatory agencies that would alter the current approach to cryptocurrencies.

The Clarity Act was intended to establish a regulatory framework for the industry. It divided supervisory authority between the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, established registration requirements for market participants, and regulated anti-money laundering measures, and imposed restrictions on the president and other officials who hold cryptocurrencies. For example, the president would be required to sell their digital assets or transfer a significant portion of them to a trust.

However, on September 15, the U.S. Senate blocked further consideration of the Clarity Act. This came as a surprise to the crypto industry, whose representatives were confident that the bill would garner enough votes to move forward.

Following that, on September 17, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission authorized certain trading platforms to begin trading tokenized versions of U.S. stocks. Holders of such assets will receive standard shareholder rights, including dividends and voting rights.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor