Standard Chartered's head of digital assets research Geoff Kendrick declared that "winter is over" for crypto markets, saying Bitcoin's (BTC) slide to $59,000 likely marked the cycle bottom and reversing a bearish call he made in February that the cryptocurrency could fall to $50,000 before recovering.
Crypto 'Winter Is Over', Standard Chartered Declares, Saying This May Be 'Buying Zone'
15 June 2026 - 19:07 CEST
By Ana Pereira
The call marks a significant shift in sentiment as Bitcoin climbed 2% on 15 Jun to $67,100 by 16:25 UTC, recovering some ground after a sell-off that left the cryptocurrency down about 24% in 2026.
Just four months ago, Kendrick warned that deteriorating macroeconomic conditions and potential investor capitulation could push BTC below $50,000 and Ether (ETH) to $1,400 before a recovery later this year.
"Winter is over. Welcome back to crypto Spring," Kendrick said in a note to clients on 15 Jun.
Bottom signals
Kendrick said three signals he had identified as necessary to confirm a market bottom had now materialized: Strategy (MSTR) purchased 1,587 BTC in the second week of June, while US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) posted a net inflow day worth $86mn and oil prices continued to decline.
Kendrick first argued on 12 Jun that the market had likely bottomed after Bitcoin fell as much as 53% from its record high of $126,000. He said easing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and the completion of the SpaceX IPO could help remove two factors that had weighed on digital asset markets in recent weeks.
Oil prices tumbled more than 5% on 15 Jun, with crude falling to around $80 a barrel and touching a two-month low as markets welcomed a US-Iran peace deal that could restore shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
ETF resilience
A second pillar of Kendrick's bullish thesis is that institutional demand has held up better than many investors feared during the correction, even as Bitcoin ETFs suffered some of their largest outflows since their debut.
SoSo Value data shows that US spot Bitcoin ETFs lost approximately $4.4bn between 15 May and 3 Jun before flows turned positive again, recording a 13-day streak of ETF outflows in early June. However, Kendrick said ETF holdings have proven more resilient than expected. Since February, total ETF holdings have remained broadly stable, falling from around 682,000 BTC to 674,000 BTC despite the sharp market correction.
Kendrick also pointed to Strategy's latest Bitcoin purchase as evidence that institutional demand remains intact. Earlier this month, the company sold 32 BTC, a move that fuelled concerns that one of Bitcoin's largest corporate holders was reducing exposure amid the downturn. The transaction marked Strategy's first Bitcoin sale since December 2022.
Targets unchanged
While maintaining his year-end forecasts of $100,000 for BTC and $4,000 for ETH, Kendrick said the recent sell-off increasingly resembles a capitulation event rather than the start of a longer bear market. The bank had cut those targets in February from previous forecasts of $150,000 and $7,500 respectively.
Kendrick also noted that approximately $1.5bn of Bitcoin futures positions were liquidated during the recent sell-off, a figure comparable to the major deleveraging events seen earlier this year.
"When we look back at the end of 2026 with BTC at $100k and ETH at $4k we will say this was the buying zone we all wanted," he noted.
The next test for the rally will be whether Bitcoin can reclaim the $83,000 area, which Kendrick identified as the next key level needed to confirm that the market has broken its pattern of lower highs.
