Standard Chartered Declares Bitcoin Bottom: 'Winter Is Over' as Crypto Spring Begins

Standard Chartered Calls Bitcoin Bottom

Standard Chartered analyst Geoff Kendrick told clients that crypto asset prices have likely seen the low for the current cycle, with Bitcoin bottoming at $59,000 after falling 53% from its $126,000 high. Bitcoin was trading at approximately $63,704 at the time of the report, according to CoinMarketCap.

Kendrick said he is looking for confirmation in three indicators: Strategy reporting it bought more Bitcoin last week, Bitcoin exchange-traded funds posting positive inflows on Friday, and oil prices continuing to break lower. Bitcoin ETFs recorded a one-day net inflow of $85.84 million on Friday, with five of the US-traded funds seeing positive movement. Crude oil futures also fell for a second consecutive day.

Winter is over. Welcome back to crypto Spring.

Strategy Signals and Institutional Activity

Strategy executive chairman Michael Saylor posted "Still adding dots" on social media alongside the company's signature chart, signaling another round of Bitcoin purchases. The disclosure followed Strategy's first reported Bitcoin sale since 2022, when it offloaded 32 BTC. Saylor defended the sale, stating that the ability to sell Bitcoin is necessary for the company's digital credit products.

On-Chain Data Shows Cooling Seller Pressure

Dormant Bitcoin movement fell to its lowest level since Q3 2022 in the second quarter, according to data from Galaxy Digital's head of firmwide research, Alex Thorn. Coin days destroyed, a metric that gives greater weight to older coins, showed a similar decline. Thorn said the earlier spikes were driven by "OGs taking profit," similar to the pattern seen during Bitcoin's 2017 bull market, suggesting long-term holders have slowed selling after elevated distribution in 2024 and 2025.

The percentage of Bitcoin supply in profit has climbed to 57.5% as of July 22, up from 46.2% on June 30, according to on-chain analytics platform CryptoQuant. With nearly 60% of the BTC supply now in profit, the spent output profit ratio of long-term holders is also improving. However, CryptoQuant contributor thechessONCHAIN noted that previous bear markets have only ended when supply in profit remained above 64% and the LTH-SOPR 30-day SMA stayed above 1 without falling for weeks. This cycle already produced one failed attempt from April 28 to June 1 when both metrics met those thresholds and then rolled back over.

Quantum Roadmap Could Act as Bitcoin Catalyst

Capriole Investments founder Charles Edwards said a clear Bitcoin development roadmap to address quantum computing risks could push the price up by "double digits" very quickly. Edwards estimates Bitcoin is currently around 40% below its fair value, with quantum risk accounting for roughly a 30% discount. Bitcoin was trading at $65,270 at the time, roughly 49% below its October all-time highs of $126,100. Edwards noted that Ethereum is due to complete its post-quantum overhaul by 2029, which could shine a spotlight on Bitcoin's own preparations.