Citigroup slashes its price targets for Bitcoin and Ethereum, sparking caution amid slow crypto regulatory progress in the United States. The Wall Street giant claims delays in passing the CLARITY Act would keep spot ETF inflows and broader institutional adoption on the bay.
Citigroup Lowers Bitcoin and Ethereum Price Targets
Citigroup has revised its forecasts downward for both Bitcoin and Ethereum, Reuters reported on March 17. The bank cited regulatory delays, shifting investor flows, and macroeconomic pressures as factors behind a pessimistic outlook.
Wall Street giant cut its 12-month Bitcoin price target to $112,000 from $143,000. Also, it lowered Ethereum price target to $3,175 from $4,304. This follows patterns where Citigroup trimmed targets on crypto stocks, despite plans to launch Bitcoin services this year.
“Regulatory catalysts will drive further adoption and flows but the window of opportunity for U.S. legislation this year is narrowing,” said Citi strategist Alex Saunders.
Citigroup warned that BTC could even drop to $58,000 and ETH to $1,198 amid macro jitters. However, under strong recovery and investor demand, Bitcoin price could rally as high as $165,000 and Ethereum to $4,488. Notably, traders are awaiting the FOMC meeting on Wednesday for cues on market direction.
“ETH will be especially sensitive to user activity metrics, which have been weak recently, but stablecoin and tokenization trends may increase interest and usage,” Citi added.
CLARITY Act Faces Delays in the US Senate
While the US SEC and CFTC signed an MoU to collaborate under the harmonization initiative, the CLARITY Act is facing delays in the US Senate. Talks continue between banks and crypto industry representatives on stablecoin yields, DeFi, and broader negotiations. Policymakers to gather at the Digital Chamber’s DC Blockchain Summit in Washington, D.C. this week.
President Trump has publicly criticized banks for stalling the crypto bill, but progress has stalled amid the Trump admin’s priority to pass the SAVE America Act before the November 2026 midterm election. Democrats winning the midterms will further delay crypto bills, dragging Bitcoin and Ethereum price lower.
Polymarket data shows the odds of the CLARITY Act passing in 2026 dropped to 60% today. It shows the prediction market traders’ mixed sentiment on the crypto bill signed into law this year.
