Bitcoin just landed a surprising new bull

A surprising new bull has entered the bitcoin space: Citigroup. Citi analyst Alex Saunders on Thursday raised his base case price forecast on bitcoin ( BTC-USD ) to $113,000 from $82,000.

"The increase draws from all three components of our process: activity, macro, and ETF flows. Debasement fears alongside SEC agency rulemaking, spurred paradoxically by the failed Clarity Act, helped crypto reclaim technical levels," Saunders said. "ETF inflows resumed as prices broke above 200-day moving averages. We now assume $5 billion base-case inflows over 12 months, up from flat, given positive sentiment."

Bitcoin just notched its strongest quarter since 2024, leaving gold and other assets in the dust despite rising Treasury yields and commodities prices.

The digital asset gained about 43% in the third quarter. It's still down about 4% year to date, however.

Many crypto watchers were caught off guard by bitcoin's third quarter rally.

The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act failed its procedural Senate vote in September, falling short of the required 60 votes.

Senate Democrats blocked the advancement of the Clarity Act due to lingering concerns about government ethics provisions and presidential conflicts of interest. President Trump and his family have long been key players in crypto with their various investments.

A handful of Republican defections further crippled the bill's momentum following intense lobbying from community banks over stablecoin reward rules.

"The rejection of CLARITY marks a positive inflexion point for Digital Assets," bitcoin bull and Strategy CEO Michael Saylor said.

Brian Sozzi is Yahoo Finance's Executive Editor, host of the Sozzi Unleashed morning show, the ' Power Players With Brian Sozzi' podcast and a member of Yahoo Finance's editorial leadership team. Follow Sozzi on X @BrianSozzi , Instagram , and LinkedIn . Tips on stories? Email brian.sozzi@yahoofinance.com.