TLDR
- Citigroup analyst Alex Saunders raised his bitcoin price forecast to $113,000 from $82,000
- Bitcoin posted its strongest quarterly performance since 2024, outpacing gold
- Bitcoin traded near $84,784 on Thursday, little changed on the day
- Treasury yields hit multi-year highs, weighing on crypto prices into Q4
- Analyst Bull Theory reported BTC and ETH both hit their highest monthly close of 2026
Citigroup has become one of the newest voices backing bitcoin’s price outlook. On Thursday, Citi analyst Alex Saunders raised his base case forecast for bitcoin to $113,000, up from an earlier target of $82,000.
Saunders said the upgrade came from three parts of his research process. These are market activity, macroeconomic conditions, and exchange-traded fund flows.
He pointed to debasement fears and new SEC rulemaking as factors that helped crypto regain key technical levels. This happened even after the Clarity Act failed to pass.
Citigroup Points to ETF Inflows
Saunders also highlighted renewed ETF inflows as a reason for his updated bitcoin forecast. He said inflows picked up again once prices moved back above the 200-day moving average.
Citigroup now expects $5 billion in base-case ETF inflows over the next 12 months. This is a shift from a previous flat estimate.
Bitcoin’s recent performance has outpaced other major assets. The cryptocurrency logged its strongest quarter since 2024, beating out gold even as Treasury yields and commodity prices climbed.
Analyst Bull Theory shared data on the scale of the move. “BREAKING: Bitcoin and Ethereum just printed their highest monthly close of 2026. $BTC surged +$25,800 and 44% in the past 3 months, delivering the best Q3 returns since 2017. $ETH surged 71.2% in the same period, its best quarter in history. Macro indicators confirm crypto has entered a new bull market,” Bull Theory posted.
BREAKING: Bitcoin and Ethereum just printed their highest monthly close of 2026.$BTC surged +$25,800 and 44% in the past 3 months, delivering the best Q3 returns since 2017.$ETH surged 71.2% in the same period, its best quarter in history.
Macro indicators confirm crypto has… pic.twitter.com/hY1Z195n2m
— Bull Theory (@BullTheoryio) October 1, 2026
Despite the strong quarterly numbers, bitcoin’s momentum slowed heading into October. The cryptocurrency traded close to $84,784 as of 06:30 ET on Thursday, showing little change on the day.
Treasury Yields Weigh on Crypto Prices
Rising Treasury yields have become a drag on crypto markets as the fourth quarter begins. Markets are bracing for the possibility of more interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve.
Bitcoin had climbed as high as $85,600 on Wednesday. This followed a U.S. PCE price index reading that came in slightly below expectations.
The softer inflation data raised hopes that the Fed might slow its pace of rate hikes. But those gains were partly offset by Treasury yields, which reached fresh multi-year highs on the same day.
Other sectors also pulled investment flows away from crypto this week. Optimism around artificial intelligence, fueled by strong earnings from Micron, pushed money toward tech and chipmaking stocks instead.
Markets are now watching for the U.S. nonfarm payrolls report for August, due Friday. The data could offer more clues on the path of interest rates.
Commentary from a Fed official this week was seen as dovish. That reduced some bets on an October rate hike.
Other major cryptocurrencies also moved lower on Thursday. BNB, Ethereum, Cardano, XRP, and Dogecoin all posted declines alongside bitcoin.
