What Would Get Bitcoin to $113K, based on Citi - Markets Weekender

Why Citi changed its mind on Bitcoin

Citi started 2026 with a $143,000 Bitcoin (BTC) target. It cut that to $112,000 in March, then to $82,000 in July, when ETF money was leaving and the bank worried that crypto treasury companies might turn into forced sellers. 

This week it reversed course. In a note dated Wednesday, the bank raised its 12-month target to $113,000 and lifted its Ether (ETH) call from $2,240 to $3,028.

The bank's reasoning rests on three changes since July. ETF flows came back, with US spot BTC funds swinging from about $5.8 billion in net outflows for the year in mid-July to a positive balance by late September. 

The SEC kept writing crypto rules after the CLARITY Act failed to pass in the Senate on September 15, which Citi said took the sting out of the bill's failure. 

And the Treasury's long-bond buybacks in August pulled crypto out of a summer slump in which it had lagged stocks and gold.

With BTC near the $84,000 to $85,000 range, getting to $113,000 means a gain of about 34%. Even then, the price would still sit below its all-time high above $126,000.

Bitcoin to $113,000: What would need to come together

1. Advisers have to keep buying

Citi's base case assumes $5 billion of inflows into crypto investment products over the next year, which it described as "slower but stickier" money from advisers and brokerages nudging client allocations up over time.