Things are going as expected, according to Standard Chartered Bank, reiterating its April forecast that bitcoin (BTC) would reach $100,000 by the end of 2024.

The next catalyst, wrote the bank's Geoff Kendrick and team, will be the approvals of several U.S.-based spot bitcoin ETFs, which they expect “are likely to come sooner than expected."

“We think a number of spot ETFs will now be approved in Q1-2024 for both BTC and ETH, paving the way for institutional investment,” they said.

The team also reminded that the next Bitcoin ‘halving’ – a mechanism to limit supply and currently expected to take place in late April 2024 – will be another source of price upside.

Standard Chartered initially made its $100,000 prediction in April, arguing then that the cryptocurrency had benefited from its status as a branded safe haven.

“Put simply, everything is working as expected," said the bank in its reiteration today. "BTC’s dominance remains intact – its share of overall digital assets market cap has increased to 50% from 45% in April."

There is also a chance that the cryptocurrency will climb to the $100,000 mark before the end of the year, the bank said. “We now expect more price upside to materialize before the halving than we previously did, specifically via the earlier-than-expected introduction of U.S. spot ETFs. This suggests a risk that the USD 100,000 level could be reached before end-2024.”