Bitcoin’s latest rally has dramatically changed the market’s outlook, with Standard Chartered analyst Geoffrey Kendrick warning that the bank’s $100,000 year-end forecast may now be too conservative.
BTC climbed to around $79,500 on August 21, its highest level since May, after gaining roughly 23% over the week. The move was amplified by a historic wave of short liquidations, with Bitcoin short liquidations approaching $1.44 billion during the rally—the largest event in the available Coinglass dataset dating back to 2021.
A short squeeze occurs when traders betting on falling prices are forced to buy back their positions as the market rises. Those forced purchases can create a feedback loop: higher prices trigger more liquidations, which generate additional buying pressure and push prices even higher.
That appears to be exactly what happened with BTC.
Could $126K Be Back in Play?
Kendrick now believes Bitcoin could potentially retest its previous all-time high near $126,000 before the end of the year. From approximately $79,500, that would represent a gain of about 58%.
Importantly, the rally is not being driven by short covering alone. U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded approximately $1.92 billion in net inflows across five trading sessions, indicating that institutional demand has returned alongside the derivatives-driven buying.
Macro conditions have also helped. The U.S. Treasury’s decision to expand planned buybacks of longer-dated government debt contributed to lower yields and a weaker dollar, improving the environment for risk assets. Meanwhile, renewed momentum around U.S. crypto regulation has added another bullish catalyst.
What About Ethereum and Other Cryptos?
Bitcoin’s strength is already spilling into the broader crypto market.
Ethereum has benefited from the same combination of renewed risk appetite, ETF demand and short covering. ETH recently moved above $2,500, while broader crypto liquidations show that bearish positioning across major digital assets has also been aggressively unwound.
If BTC continues toward $100,000 and eventually challenges its $126,000 record, capital could rotate further into Ethereum and higher-beta altcoins. Historically, a sustained Bitcoin breakout can improve overall crypto sentiment as traders become more willing to take risk elsewhere.
However, the opposite is also possible. Because the recent move was heavily accelerated by forced buying, BTC could experience sharp pullbacks if ETF inflows weaken, leverage rebuilds too quickly or macro conditions deteriorate.
The Bigger Picture
The $100,000 Bitcoin target no longer looks like the ceiling of the current bullish scenario. Instead, it may become an important psychological milestone on the way toward a potential retest of the $126,000 record.
The key question is whether fresh demand can replace the forced buying that powered the short squeeze. If ETF inflows remain strong and institutional participation continues, the rally could have considerably more room to run.
For the broader crypto market, that would mean a potentially powerful tailwind for ETH and other major cryptocurrencies—but volatility is likely to remain high.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice.
