Trump's Crypto Reserve Plan Boosts Bitcoin Price, Standard Chartered Reaffirms $500,000 Target

On March 2, 2025, President Donald Trump revealed plans to create a Crypto Strategic Reserve that would include Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, Solana, and Cardano. This announcement led to significant market volatility. Bitcoin’s price jumped from around $85,000 to nearly $95,000, settling at about $93,000. Meanwhile, other cryptocurrencies, including Cardano and XRP, saw notable increases, rising by 40% and 16%, respectively.

Geoff Kendrick, Standard Chartered’s Head of Digital Asset Research, responded to Trump’s announcement by revising his Bitcoin price target to $500,000. He mentioned that his team has shifted their strategy from selling rallies to buying dips. In his updated forecast, Kendrick expects Bitcoin to hit $200,000 by the end of 2025, $300,000 by 2026, $400,000 by 2027, and $500,000 by 2028. He believes Bitcoin’s increasing role in global investment portfolios will drive long-term growth, positioning it as a hedge against challenges faced by traditional finance.

Kendrick also pointed out the strategic importance of Trump’s proposal, suggesting it could encourage U.S. states to establish their own Bitcoin reserves. This would potentially lead them to accumulate as much Bitcoin as the federal government, which holds approximately 200,000 BTC. The announcement has sparked renewed interest in legislative efforts to establish national Bitcoin reserves. For example, Senator Cynthia Lummis’ Strategic Reserve Bill, introduced last year, aims to have the U.S. government buy 1 million BTC over several years, and Lummis has already met with Trump’s Crypto Czar, David Sacks, about moving the bill forward.

Despite Bitcoin’s poor performance in February—its worst monthly showing since June 2022—Trump’s announcement helped the market recover. Kendrick compared the market reaction to the “Fed put,” referring to the Federal Reserve’s role in stabilizing stock markets. He suggested that Trump’s policies could act similarly to support the cryptocurrency market, reducing the risk of severe downturns.

As Bitcoin’s volatility stabilized, the market began to anticipate further crypto-friendly policy shifts, particularly ahead of the Crypto Summit at the White House. Trump’s plan could pave the way for substantial institutional adoption of Bitcoin, with states and other entities potentially following suit. In the long term, this move could reshape the future of the cryptocurrency market, making Bitcoin a more stable and integral part of financial portfolios around the globe.