Bitcoin $BTC ( ▼ 0.67% ) slid about 2% over the past 24 hours, snapping its early-year winning streak and trading in a tight range around $90,000. The dip also spilled into ETFs, which saw a combined $486 million in net outflows on Wednesday, according to SoSoValue.
Still, Citi isn’t backing off.
Why Citi isn’t changing its view
Citi analysts reiterated their 12-month base case of $143,000 for bitcoin, even as prices softened. The bank also laid out a bear case of $78,000, which it says would only materialize under more severe recessionary macro conditions.
Alex Saunders, Citi’s head of global quant macro strategy, said the upside case continues to rest on revived ETF demand and supportive equity market forecasts, rather than short-term price swings.
ETF pain, but not panic
The ETF outflows look ugly on the surface, but some analysts see the move as routine. Ryan Lee, chief analyst at Bitget, described the decline as a standard reset driven by profit-taking and macro uncertainty.
In his view, these pullbacks help clear excess leverage and can actually strengthen the market structure, rather than signal a broader breakdown.
The bigger picture
Bitcoin’s recent weakness contrasts with the conviction from large banks like Citi, which are increasingly framing drawdowns as noise within a longer-term bullish cycle. For now, Wall Street appears more focused on medium-term liquidity and ETF trends than on a few red candles.