British banking giant Standard Chartered wrote that Bitcoin could fall to $50,000 in the short term.

According to Geoffrey Kendrick, the bank’s head of forex and digital assets research, Bitcoin’s fall below $60,000 could be the start of further declines. In a note to clients, Kendrick said, “BTC’s proper break below $60K has now reopened a route to the $50-52K range. The driver seems to be a combination of crypto-specific and broader macro.”

The bank analyst noted that crypto-specific concerns include five consecutive days of outflows from Bitcoin spot ETFs in the US and low interest in Bitcoin spot ETFs launched yesterday in Hong Kong. “More than half of the spot ETF positions are underwater and so the risk of liquidation of some of them must be considered as well,” Kendrick said, underlining that the low volume in Hong Kong spot ETFs also contributed to the price decline.

The analyst also drew attention to macroeconomic trends in his comments on the decline.

Emphasizing that liquidity measures are deteriorating rapidly, especially in the US, Kendrick said, “Of course, liquidity matters when it matters, but with a backdrop of strong U.S. inflation data and less likelihood of Fed rate cuts, it matters at the moment,” Kendrick said that Bitcoin can be re-entered in the range of $50-52 thousand or when the US inflation data on the 15th of the month is positive.

In the longer term, Standard Chartered predicts that Bitcoin will reach $150,000. The bank expects this price level to be seen by the end of 2024.