Citigroup raised its 12-month Bitcoin price target to $113,000 from $82,000 on Thursday, saying renewed interest in cryptocurrencies and more favorable market sentiment could push the token higher over the next year.
The bank also lifted its Ethereum target to $3,028 from $2,240. It said demand for crypto-backed exchange-traded funds could fuel the move, with inflows reaching $5 billion over the next year.
Bitcoin has already recovered from a rough stretch. It fell from a high of $124,000 in October 2025 to a low of $58,000 in June, then began turning higher in mid-August after the Treasury Department's bond-buyback announcement helped spark a jump. By September, Bitcoin had crossed $80,000 for the first time in four months and has since traded around that level.
Citigroup said the recent reversal in ETF flows matters. Spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded nearly $7 billion in outflows in May and June, according to data from analytics platform SoSoValue. That trend reversed in July, and spot Bitcoin ETFs surpassed $2 billion in inflows in September.
The bank also cited a weaker U.S. dollar as a support factor. Historically, a weaker dollar has made investors more willing to take risks, especially in speculative assets such as cryptocurrencies.
Regulation is part of the backdrop as well. The Clarity Act, which would have set broad rules for the crypto market, failed to advance in the Senate in mid-September. Soon after, the Securities and Exchange Commission moved to use its existing powers to write rules for the industry during the rest of the current administration. Citigroup said those steps helped calm investors' concerns.
The market has already voted. When ETF money comes back, the dollar softens and Washington signals fewer immediate regulatory shocks, capital tends to chase the assets with the strongest leverage to sentiment. Bitcoin remains exactly that kind of trade: high risk, high volatility and highly sensitive to the policy environment.
For the taxpayer and for investors, the lesson is familiar. Clear rules matter more than headline-driven uncertainty, and markets react fast when the administrative state stops adding friction. In crypto, as in the broader market, capital rewards clarity.
