Standard Chartered warned that continued resilience and adoption of Bitcoin are a necessary condition for decentralized finance (DeFi) to sustainably displace traditional banking (TradFi). The bank links that stability to ambitious price targets and institutional investments that, according to the firm, will drive market infrastructure. The message affects institutional investors, crypto asset managers and product leads on DeFi platforms.
According to Geoff Kendrick, head of FX and digital assets at Standard Chartered, Bitcoin functions as the ‘apex asset’ of the digital ecosystem, and a structural drop in its price could “undermine the broader digital finance movement”.
The bank maintains explicit price projections: $200,000 for end-2025, $500,000 for 2028 and a $1,000,000 long-term view, positioning price stability as a pillar for the DeFi thesis.
In addition, the firm has launched spot trading services for Bitcoin and Ethereum from its UK subsidiary, a sign of operational integration between TradFi and crypto markets.
Standard Chartered also highlights significant institutional flows, citing $14.8 billion in cumulative net inflows to Bitcoin ETFs, and promotes active management during corrections: the firm advises viewing declines, even below the psychological barrier of $100,000, as opportunities for structured accumulation to sustain market liquidity and confidence.
Standard Chartered, Bitcoin and the keys to its adoption
The bank combines trading strategy with venture capital: its investment arm, SC Ventures, plans to commit $250 million to a crypto fund before 2026, focused on blockchain infrastructure and DeFi projects.
In its base case, Standard Chartered estimates the DeFi market could grow up to $2 trillion in 2028, with stablecoins capturing close to $1 trillion from bank deposits in emerging markets. A stablecoin is a crypto asset whose value is pegged to a currency or asset to reduce volatility.
Potential effects derived only from the available content include institutional adoption bringing greater legitimacy and liquidity if systemic banks offer regulated trading and custody; concentration risk by tying DeFi’s health to the perception and price of Bitcoin; deposit mobility as flows toward stablecoins could erode bank deposits in emerging economies; and investment opportunity as accumulation strategies in corrections are presented as tactics to support the market.
The upcoming milestone to watch is the $200,000 target for end-2025, which Standard Chartered positions as a proving ground for the DeFi vs TradFi narrative; the evolution of Bitcoin’s price and institutional buying decisions will be decisive in validating that scenario.
