Citi Boosts Bitcoin Target to $113,000, Ethereum to $3,028

Citigroup has increased its 12-month price outlook for Bitcoin (BTC) to $113,000, up from $82,000, on the assumption that exchange-traded fund investors will continue to buy. The bank also lifted its Ethereum (ETH) target to $3,028, which offers only a limited gain from the current trading level.

However, fund movements on the same day contradicted that expectation. On September 30, the day of Citi's report, US spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded outflows of $148.69 million.

What Prompted Citi's Swift Reversal of Its June Dwngrade?

Alex Saunders, an analyst at Citi, attributed the change to enhancements in all the metrics the bank monitors.

“The increase draws from all three components of our process: activity, macro, and ETF flows. Debasement fears alongside SEC agency rulemaking, spurred paradoxically by the failed Clarity Act, helped crypto reclaim technical levels,” Saunders commented.

The shift in the flow projection underscores the magnitude of the change in expectations. On June 30, as reported by Reuters, Citi's note reduced the 12-month ETF inflow estimate to zero from $10 billion.

The same June note also downgraded Bitcoin's target to $82,000 from $112,000 and Ethereum's to $2,240 from $3,175. At that point, BTC was around $59,000 and ETH around $1,600.

Currently, Citi projects $5 billion in inflows over the next year, as financial advisers and brokerages slowly increase their Bitcoin allocations.

Saunders further cited technical chart patterns, noting that ETF inflows restarted after prices moved above their 200-day moving averages. On September 8, Bitcoin formed a golden cross, meaning its 50-day average climbed above its 200-day average.

Doos Ethereum's New Target Offer Upside After a 71% Q3 Rally?

According to Coinglass data, Bitcoin rose 42.7% and Ethereum 70.8% during the third quarter. Their year-to-date declines have shrunk to approximately 3% and 8.4%, respectively. Bitcoin recorded its first ever fully positive third quarter.

At the time of writing, BTC was at $84,591, up 1.18% on the day, based on BeInCrypto Markets data. This places Citi's target roughly 34% above the current price.

The new target also exceeds the $100,000 forecast for 2027 by VanEck's Matthew Sigel, the firm's head of digital assets research. However, demand at the start of October appears weaker.

Late September saw a coolddown in Bitcoin ETF demand, and CryptoQuant reported that apparent spot demand decreased by 170,000 BTC over 30 days.

ETH was trading at $2,699.46, up 0.34% on the day, meaning the new forecast offers just about 12% upside. Even this increased target remains under the $3,175 that Citi had predicted before June 30.

Despite this, supply conditions are still encouraging. Last week, Santiment data showed only 3.49% of ETH's total supply was held on exchanges, which reduces the availability of coins. On the other hand, Ethereum ETFs brought a seven-day streak of inflows to a close on September 29.

Both Citi's June reduction and its recent upgrade were driven by its expectations for ETF flows. Upcoming fund data around the Federal Reserve's October 27-28 meeting will indicate if those inflow projections prove accurate.