Citigroup raises 12-month bitcoin target to $113,000 as ETF inflows resume

Citigroup updated its 12-month outlook for major cryptocurrencies on Oct. 1, raising its bitcoin target to $113,000 from $82,000 and lifting its ether target to $3,028 from $2,240. In the note, the bank said those revisions reflect a return of exchange-traded fund inflows and a macroeconomic backdrop it judges supportive for risk assets. Citi cited current market levels at the time of the note — bitcoin near $84,307 and ether around $2,668.

Citi expects “slower but stickier” inflows into ETF-like products as advisers and brokerages incrementally increase bitcoin allocations, forecasting roughly $5 billion of net inflow into cryptocurrency investment products over the next 12 months. The bank noted that U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs had recorded year-to-date net outflows of $5.8 billion as of July 13, a trend that reversed over the summer with net inflows for 2026 reaching about $800 million by late September.

The note pointed to a series of recent developments that helped improve sentiment around crypto. Bitcoin climbed more than 10% after the U.S. Senate failed to advance the Clarity Act on Sept. 15, and Citi said subsequent SEC rule announcements provided a “temporary but meaningful positive.” The bank also flagged the U.S. Treasury’s buybacks of longer-dated bonds as a catalyst that revived momentum across digital-asset markets and helped break a months-long underperformance versus other risk assets.

Citi added a cautionary caveat about political risk: while agency rulemaking may substitute for a durable legislative solution in the near term, the bank sees a potential that a 2028 change in administration could roll back agency-promulgated rules — a risk it said lies outside its forecast horizon. Overall, the note frames the bank’s higher price targets as driven by resumed ETF flows, adviser behavior, and recent regulatory and Treasury actions that eased negative sentiment.