Bitcoin market 'improving' after hitting local low of $56,500: Standard Chartered

Standard Chartered has revised its short-term forecast for Bitcoin BTC +0.13% , predicting a rebound from a recent low of $56,500, a shift from last week's prediction that the cryptocurrency would dip into the $50,000-$52,000 range.

"Things are improving and we have likely seen the low at $56,500 on 1 May," Standard Chartered Bank Head of FX Research and Digital Assets Research Geoff Kendrick said.

In an analysis note sent to The Block on Tuesday, Kendrick said he adjusted his forecast after the Federal Reserve's rates announcement last Wednesday was less hawkish than expected, coupled with a positive U.S. jobs report on Friday. Kendrick said these macroeconomic factors were significant enough to drive $595 million of inflows to multiple U.S.-based spot bitcoin ETFs in the past two sessions, following a record seven consecutive days of outflows. Additionally, he noted that Hong Kong ETFs have now added inflows of $246 million.

U.S government debt 'unsustainable'

Kendrick said that U.S. government debt and deficits appear to be on an unsustainable path. For U.S. Treasurys, this likely means a steeper curve, higher breakevens and higher term premiums. "We think such a scenario would be broadly supportive of digital assets as investors seek alternative assets," Kendrick added.

The Standard Chartered analyst also added that a Trump win in November's U.S. presidential election would be "bitcoin positive."

"We also look at the implications of the November U.S. election for digital assets; we think that a second Trump administration would be broadly positive via a more supportive regulatory environment," he said.