The Crypto Basic, a blockchain media outlet, reported on March 24 that bitcoin has likely ended its recent decline and has a high chance of breaking above $150,000 by year-end.

Bernstein analyst Gautam Chhugani (퀀텀 추가니) forecast that bitcoin will wrap up its correction and switch to an uptrend. Bitcoin is trading at around $70,290. It recently rebounded to $71,800 after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a halt to attacks on Iran.

Bernstein analysed the correction as limited to a 52 percent drop, showing stronger resilience than past bear markets. It also expected rising institutional demand and inflows into exchange-traded funds to drive gains. Spot bitcoin ETFs recently recorded net inflows of $167.23 million, and Australian pension fund Hostplus announced plans to invest in bitcoin. Morgan Stanley is also preparing to launch a U.S. spot bitcoin ETF.

Strategy, formerly MicroStrategy, bought an additional $76.6 million worth of bitcoin last week, taking its total holdings to 762,099 BTC. Bernstein described Strategy as a "bitcoin beta play" and set a price target of $450.

Not all experts agree with Bernstein's optimism. Chartist Ali Martinez said bitcoin could fall to $41,500 by October 2026, and Standard Chartered forecast it could drop to $50,000, citing economic uncertainty and weak demand. Standard Chartered cut its 2026 bitcoin target to $100,000 from $150,000.

Morgan Stanley stressed that its entry into the cryptocurrency market is the result of a long-term plan rather than short-term fear of missing out. Amy Oldenburg (에이미 올든버그), head of digital assets at Morgan Stanley, said, "Traditional finance's entry into the cryptocurrency market is not a recent trend but a strategy prepared over years," and added, "Morgan Stanley also initially approached it through indirect methods such as bitcoin funds, but is now expanding to the launch of direct products."