LONDON Top cryptocurrency bitcoin could reach $50,000 this year and $120,000 by the end of 2024 Standard Chartered said on Monday, predicting the jump in its price could encourage bitcoin 'miners' to hoard more of the supply.

Standard Chartered published a $100,000 end-2024 forecast for bitcoin back in April on the view the so-called "crypto winter" was over, but one the bank's top FX analysts, Geoff Kendrick, said there was now 20% "upside" to that call.

"Increased miner profitability per BTC (bitcoin) mined means they can sell less while maintaining cash inflows, reducing net BTC supply and pushing BTC prices higher," Kendrick said in a report.

(Reporting by Marc Jones; Editing by Amanda Cooper)