Standard Chartered Report Indicates Sovereign Funds are Investing in Bitcoin through MicroStrategy Stock
Standard Chartered’s report highlights that sovereign funds are indirectly investing in Bitcoin by purchasing MicroStrategy shares. This trend is expected to support the bank’s forecast that Bitcoin will reach $500,000 by 2029.
(Background: Market Stalemate – Multiple Whales Have Opened High-Leverage Positions on Hyperliquid: Bullish on BTC, Bearish on ETH?)
(Background Supplement: Hyperliquid EVM Ecosystem Mining Offers Multiple Returns! Which Protocols Can Still Earn Airdrops?)
Standard Chartered’s Optimistic Outlook on Bitcoin
Standard Chartered has reiterated its bullish stance on Bitcoin (BTC), predicting that its price could reach $500,000 before President Trump leaves office in 2029. The key support for this optimistic outlook comes from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) latest Q1 13F filings, which show that large institutional investors are increasing their exposure to Bitcoin by purchasing MicroStrategy (MSTR) shares.
Geoffrey Kendrick, the global head of digital asset research at Standard Chartered, noted that while institutional holdings in Bitcoin spot ETFs have been disappointing, the trend of indirectly holding Bitcoin through MicroStrategy shares is “very encouraging.” Kendrick stated in the report:
“The latest SEC 13F data supports our core thesis that Bitcoin (BTC) will reach the $500,000 level before Trump leaves office, as it attracts a broader base of institutional buyers… As more investors gain access to this asset and reduce volatility, we believe portfolios will shift from underweighting BTC to its optimal level.”
Sovereign Funds Invest in Bitcoin via MSTR to Avoid Regulatory Constraints
The report analyzes that institutions prefer gaining Bitcoin exposure through investments in MicroStrategy primarily because regulations in many regions do not allow these entities to hold cryptocurrencies directly. MicroStrategy, having integrated Bitcoin into its core corporate strategy and continuously increasing its holdings, has become recognized in the market as a “Bitcoin treasury firm,” with its stock price highly correlated with Bitcoin’s price, providing institutions with a regulated and liquid investment proxy.
According to Q1 13F data, despite the Wisconsin Investment Board liquidating its holdings in BlackRock’s IBIT ETF (equivalent to 3,400 Bitcoins), more sovereign funds chose to increase their positions in MicroStrategy stock. Entities that increased their MSTR holdings in Q1 include:
- The Norwegian Government Pension Fund, Swiss National Bank, and South Korean pension and investment institutions: each adding positions equivalent to approximately 700 Bitcoins.
- State retirement funds from California, New York, North Carolina, and Kentucky: collectively increasing positions equivalent to approximately 1,000 Bitcoins.
- Sweden and Liechtenstein: also saw slight increases.
Notably, sovereign funds from France and Saudi Arabia established MSTR positions for the first time. Although the initial scale is small, this further confirms the expanding interest of sovereign entities in indirect Bitcoin exposure.
Standard Chartered believes that this trend reflects a shift in institutional portfolios from historically underweight positions in Bitcoin towards its “optimal level” allocation, which also signals the growing recognition of Bitcoin as a store of value and an inflation hedge.
Besides Bitcoin, Kendrick expressed optimism regarding the prospects of other cryptocurrencies, predicting that ETH could reach $7,500 by 2028, BNB could hit $2,775 by 2028, Avalanche (AVAX) could reach $250 by 2029, and XRP could reach $12.5 by 2028, while expecting significant growth in the adoption of stablecoins.
