Key Highlights
- Citi’s Alex Saunders upgraded his bitcoin price target to $113,000, revising from $82,000
- BTC delivered its best quarterly gains since 2024, surpassing gold’s performance
- Bitcoin hovered around $84,784 Thursday, showing minimal daily movement
- Multi-year highs in Treasury yields pressured cryptocurrency valuations entering Q4
- Bull Theory data shows BTC and ETH recorded their highest monthly closes of 2026
Citigroup has emerged as a fresh supporter of bitcoin’s bullish trajectory. In a Thursday report, Citi’s Alex Saunders revised his baseline bitcoin projection upward to $113,000, marking a significant increase from his previous $82,000 estimate.
According to Saunders, the revised projection stems from three analytical pillars: trading activity patterns, broader macroeconomic trends, and capital flows into exchange-traded products.
The analyst cited concerns over currency debasement and forthcoming SEC regulatory frameworks as catalysts that enabled cryptocurrency to reclaim critical technical thresholds, despite the Clarity Act’s legislative failure.
ETF Capital Flows Drive Optimism at Citigroup
Saunders emphasized resurgent exchange-traded fund capital flows as a cornerstone of his revised bitcoin projection. He noted that institutional money returned once bitcoin reclaimed its position above the 200-day moving average.
The banking giant now anticipates $5 billion in ETF inflows throughout the coming year under its base scenario, departing from earlier neutral expectations.
Bitcoin’s recent track record has eclipsed competing asset classes. The digital currency recorded its most impressive quarterly showing since 2024, outperforming gold despite concurrent rises in both Treasury yields and commodity valuations.
Market analyst Bull Theory provided context on the magnitude of recent price action. “BREAKING: Bitcoin and Ethereum just printed their highest monthly close of 2026. $BTC surged +$25,800 and 44% in the past 3 months, delivering the best Q3 returns since 2017. $ETH surged 71.2% in the same period, its best quarter in history. Macro indicators confirm crypto has entered a new bull market,” the analyst reported.
However, bitcoin’s upward trajectory decelerated as October commenced. The leading cryptocurrency was changing hands near $84,784 at 06:30 ET Thursday, reflecting minimal intraday price movement.
Rising Bond Yields Create Headwinds for Digital Assets
Climbing Treasury yields have emerged as a counterforce to cryptocurrency markets as Q4 unfolds. Traders are positioning for potential additional rate increases from the Federal Reserve.
Bitcoin had reached $85,600 Wednesday, buoyed by a U.S. PCE price index report that registered marginally below forecasts.
The more moderate inflation figures sparked speculation that the central bank might temper its rate-hiking trajectory. Yet these advances were partially neutralized by Treasury yields touching fresh multi-year peaks during the same trading session.
Competing sectors also diverted capital away from digital assets this week. Enthusiasm surrounding artificial intelligence developments, amplified by impressive Micron earnings results, channeled investment toward technology and semiconductor equities.
Market participants now await Friday’s U.S. nonfarm payrolls data for August. The employment figures may provide additional insight into the Federal Reserve’s interest rate trajectory.
Recent statements from a Federal Reserve official were interpreted as accommodative, diminishing expectations for an October rate adjustment.
Alternative cryptocurrencies experienced similar downward pressure Thursday. BNB, Ethereum, Cardano, XRP, and Dogecoin all registered losses in tandem with bitcoin.
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