Standard Chartered has issued a stark warning to crypto investors, predicting Bitcoin could fall to $50,000 and Ethereum to $1,400 in the coming months. Geoffrey Kendrick, the bank's global head of digital assets research, shared this bearish outlook with DL News, citing a shift in market sentiment. He forecasts a drop of over 26% for Bitcoin from recent levels and a more than 30% decline for Ethereum.
This prediction comes as the broader crypto market grapples with significant losses, having shed over $2 trillion in value. On the day of the report, Bitcoin traded at $67,035 (down 1.4%) and Ethereum at $1,959 (down 1.3%). Kendrick's comments reflect a growing pessimistic sentiment that is causing investors to seek alternative opportunities.
Amid this downturn, attention is shifting toward specific altcoins. DeepSnitch AI (DSNT), an AI-driven analytics platform currently in its fifth presale stage, is being promoted with a narrative of potential 300x returns. The project, priced at $0.03985, has raised over $1.594 million. It offers live AI tools for market analysis, including real-time signals and sentiment tracking.
Elsewhere, Bitlayer (BTR) defied the broader market slump, rallying 12% to $0.1503 and posting a 75% weekly gain. The surge was accompanied by a 240% spike in daily trading volume to nearly $50 million. Analyst Crypto Winkle suggested BTR could target $0.19000.
Simultaneously, Zcash (ZEC) re-entered the spotlight as a trending privacy coin, trading at $233.74 despite a 1.8% daily dip. On-chain data indicated sustained investor interest in shielded transactions.
In related institutional news, Grayscale Investments filed with the SEC to convert its Aave Trust into a publicly traded ETF on NYSE Arca, seeking to provide regulated exposure to the Aave token. Aave remains a DeFi leader with over $27 billion in Total Value Locked (TVL).
Other major tokens showed mixed movements. XRP gained 7% weekly, trading around $1.48 with analysts eyeing a move toward $2. Binance Coin (BNB) experienced a mild pullback, hovering near $616 after a 1% weekly drop.
