Citigroup took a red pen to its crypto forecasts on Tuesday, cutting its 12-month price targets for bitcoin after the ETF flows that carried the market higher went into reverse.
The bank now sees bitcoin at $82,000 a year out, down from $112,000. It’s the second time Citi has trimmed those numbers in 2026. An earlier round of cuts had already pulled bitcoin down from $143,000.
What changed most is how Citi thinks about Bitcoin ETFs. The bank had been penciling in $10 billion of net inflows over the coming year. It now expects zero.
That is a big swing, and it reflects what has happened in the funds themselves: BTC ETFs have shed roughly $3.3 billion in 2026, and June alone saw $4 billion walk out the door — the worst month on record for the products.
Citi’s analysts tied the downgrade to a mix of softer investor demand, those negative ETF flows, and a Washington that has yet to move on digital asset legislation.
They also raised a more specific worry: that digital asset treasury companies, which have loaded up on bitcoin, might start selling. Add in a broader shift of money toward anything with an AI label, and the setup for crypto has turned defensive.
If things get worse, they could get a lot worse. Citi’s bear case — built on a recession and a steady drip of ETF withdrawals — puts BTC at $53,000 over the next 12 months.
Bitcoin price jumps above $60,000
Bitcoin currently trades at $60,041, up $1,698 (2.91%) on the day, per the live chart dated July 1, 2026.
Over the past 24 hours it swung between a low of $57,717.55 and a high of $60,473.99, with the biggest push coming after 9:00 a.m., when price broke from around $58,500 up past $60,400.
Volume ran to 446,377 BTC, or $26.85 billion. Market cap sits at $1.20 trillion, according to Bitcoin Magazine data.
Back in April, Citi said adding bitcoin alongside gold could improve portfolio performance, arguing that splitting a traditional 5% gold allocation between the two assets enhanced returns while providing better resilience during inflationary and bond market stress.
The report also noted BTC was increasingly behaving as both a geopolitical hedge and a neutral settlement asset, with analysts pointing to strong price momentum, bearish derivatives positioning that could fuel further gains, and BTC outperforming gold during recent market volatility.
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