Standard Chartered’s head of digital-assets research, Geoff Kendrick, has issued a bullish long-term forecast for Bitcoin, saying investors should position for a move to $100,000 by the end of 2026. He described the short-term technical level of $65,500 as the most important threshold, arguing that a move above it would signal that the bottom of the current market cycle has been passed.
The catalyst behind the renewed optimism was the U.S. Treasury Department’s August 19, 2026 decision to at least double the maximum size of liquidity-backed repurchase operations for certain long-term Treasury securities. For 10-20 year and 20-30 year nominal Treasury bonds, the maximum size of a single repurchase operation will rise from $2 billion to at least $4 billion, with the expansion scheduled between September 9 and November 4. Long-term Treasury yields fell after the announcement, and Kendrick called the move “exactly the type of thing Bitcoin loves.”
Bitcoin subsequently broke out of a six-week range and traded above $72,000. Derivatives data from Coinglass showed roughly $3 billion in crypto short liquidations in 24 hours, with more than $1 billion cleared in a single hour, amplifying the rally. Spot Bitcoin ETF flows also offered support, with SoSoValue recording $517.19 million in net inflows on August 19.
However, not all commentators shared Kendrick’s view. JPMorgan strategists warned that the Treasury buyback plan may not keep long-term yields down because it does not change the fiscal deficit or remove the term premium investors demand for longer-dated debt. Peter Schiff went further, calling Bitcoin’s move above $72,000 “a fakeout, not a breakout” and arguing that gold is the better hedge against inflation risk and currency debasement, posting on X: “Sell Bitcoin, buy gold.”
Separately, Donald Trump urged Congress to pass the CLARITY Act during a White House meeting with crypto-industry executives. The bill aims to clarify securities and commodities oversight for digital assets, a meaningful issue for exchanges, token issuers and investors. Ethereum jumped 19% on the same day as the political signal added to the broader crypto rally.
