Citi lifts ether outlook, trims bitcoin view as investor flows shift

By Rashika Singh (Reuters) -Citigroup raised its year-end outlook for ether and slightly trimmed its view on bitcoin, citing shifting investor flows and macroeconomic crosscurrents. Investors are increasingly favouring the yield-generating ether over bitcoin, the world's largest cryptocurrency, which relies solely on price appreciation. The Wall Street brokerage's target of $133,000 for bitcoin implies a roughly 12% upside from its trading level of $118,747.48, as of 0530 GMT. For ether, the target is $4,500, implying a nearly 3% upside from its level of $4,375. Citi sees continued upside next year, with a 12-month target of $5,440 for ether and $181,000 for bitcoin. Bitcoin's year-end forecast was revised slightly lower, as Citi pointed to offsetting macro factors including a stronger dollar and weaker gold prices. While bitcoin continues to trade above adoption model estimates, the brokerage said its "digital gold" narrative remains intact and is likely to attract a larger share of incremental flows. Citi analysts raised their year-end forecast for ether, noting the token's sharp price jump over the summer as institutional investors and financial advisors ramped up crypto buying. The brokerage expects it to end 2025 modestly higher, supported by strong inflows from exchange-traded funds and digital asset treasuries. Citi's base case assumes robust year-end flows of $7.5 billion into bitcoin, with a bull case predicated on stronger equity markets and higher demand. For ether, the upside is driven by increased adoption and potential yield generation via staking and decentralised finance platforms. Bear case for bitcoin sees prices falling to $83,000 if recessionary macro conditions materialise, while ether's downside is harder to model due to uncertainty around network activity and value accrual, the brokerage noted. Both tokens are trading above user-activity-based metrics, and Citi emphasised that sustained investor demand will be key to supporting prices through year-end and into 2026. (Reporting by Rashika Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Harikrishnan Nair)

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