Bitcoin has likely bottomed out and is poised for further gains, Wall Street broker Bernstein said in a Tuesday note to clients, reiterating his $150,000 year-end price target.
“We believe that Bitcoin has bottomed out and is now heading higher,” wrote analysts led by Gautam Chhugani. The world’s largest cryptocurrency was trading around $71,000 at the time of publication.
The broker also maintained his bullish view on bitcoin tax company Strategy (MSTR), calling it a high-beta proxy for bitcoin with a “stable, liquid and stress-tested” balance sheet. The firm, led by executive chairman Michael Saylor, owns about 3.6% of the total bitcoin supply, worth about $53.5 billion.
Bernstein has an outperform rating on the strategy with a price target of $450. Shares were unchanged in early trading, around $138.10.
The analysts also highlighted increasing demand for Strategy’s preferred instrument, STRC, which offers a monthly yield of 11.5% with low volatility.
STRC’s perpetual structure helps reduce equity dilution while providing long-term capital, with trading volume up 65% over the past three months, the report noted.
Bitcoin’s latest pullback comes after a sharp run to record highs in late 2025, which saw prices drop as much as 45% from their peak amid a mix of macro and market-driven pressures. Analysts point to a higher-for-longer interest rate backdrop, geopolitical risk linked to the Middle East and intermittent exchange-traded fund (ETF) outflows weighing on risk appetite.
The unwinding of leveraged positions and profit-taking by long-term holders accelerated the decline, triggering bouts of foreclosures and increasing volatility.
Despite the magnitude of the correction, Bernstein analysts characterized the move as a temporary reset in sentiment rather than a breakdown in fundamentals, noting the absence of systemic stress typically seen in past crypto downturns.
On the macro side, the analysts noted that bitcoin has outperformed gold by 25% since the start of the Iran conflict in late February, underscoring the cryptocurrency’s appeal as a portable, censorship-resistant asset during periods of geopolitical stress.
Institutional demand remains a key driver. The broker pointed to resilient ETF flows and increasing participation from banks offering bitcoin-related financial services.
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