In the first quarter, government entities increased their holdings in Strategy shares as a derivative of digital gold. Standard Chartered reached this conclusion based on reports to the SEC, writes The Block.
This trend has reinforced the bank’s experts’ expectations of the first cryptocurrency reaching a target of $500,000 by 2028.
“As more investors gain access and volatility decreases, the share of Bitcoin in portfolios will move from the current initial level to an optimal level,” the review states.
Analysis of regulatory forms showed “disappointing” dynamics for BTC-ETF and “encouraging” ones for Strategy shares.
“In some cases, the acquisition of MSTR by government organizations reflects a desire to access the first cryptocurrency where local legislation does not allow direct ownership of the asset,” the specialists clarified.
Standard Chartered recorded indirect purchases by Norway’s pension fund, the Swiss National Bank, and South Korean pension and investment bodies, averaging 700 BTC each.
Pension funds from U.S. states—California, New York, North Carolina, and Kentucky—collectively acquired the equivalent of 1,000 BTC.
Liechtenstein made minor purchases, while France and Saudi Arabia opened positions for the first time, albeit small ones, indicating growing state interest in indirect Bitcoin participation, analysts noted.
In the ETF sector, the exit of Wisconsin’s investment board from a position in BlackRock’s exchange-traded fund equivalent to 3,400 BTC had an impact.
This sale was partially offset by an increase in position by the quasi-sovereign company Mubadala from Abu Dhabi—from 4,700 BTC to 5,000 BTC equivalent, specialists calculated.
Earlier, Standard Chartered urged the purchase of the first cryptocurrency and forecasted its price increase to $120,000 in the second quarter.
Analysts set a target for Binance-linked token BNB at $2,775 by the end of 2028.
In March, the bank’s experts revised the Ethereum price target for 2025, lowering it from $10,000 to $4,000. Among the reasons cited was the growing influence of L2 solutions, particularly the Base platform.