The world’s oldest and biggest cryptocurrency surged to new lifetime highs on Wednesday, setting an early precedent in what a popular industry pundit predicts is just the start.
The Bitcoin price swiftly soared above the $93,000 mark after breaching the key $90K barrier amid a record-shattering rally following the election of pro-crypto Donald Trump as the next president of the United States. The top crypto registered a staggering $20,000 price surge in just a week and has more than doubled since its Jan. 1 price of $42,000.
So where to from here? Bitwise’s Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan says that until BTC hits the $500,000 level, “it’s still early.”
Think You’re Too Late To BTC? Think Again
Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan believes that Bitcoin’s recent run of lifetime peaks is far from over and forecasted that BTC will notch a new six-figure all-time high of $500,000 in the foreseeable future.
While he believes a pullback could be expected after the euphoric rise, Hougan believes such a pause would be crucial to recharge bulls’ engines for the next leg higher.
“The market may pull back — it’s come so far, so fast — but $100,000 feels like it could be right around the corner,” the pundit wrote in a Nov. 12 blog post. “It’s no longer the first inning. But until Bitcoin hits $500K, it’s still early.”
While admitting that Bitcoin is not guaranteed to ever reach $500,000, citing the crypto’s notorious volatility, Hougan contended that a $500K price tag is the right boundary between early and late—indicating the point where Bitcoin becomes “mature.”
Why BTC’s Explosion To $500,000 Is Possible
According to Hougan, demand for store-of-value assets, such as gold and, increasingly, BTC, will skyrocket as governments and central banks debase their fiat currencies. Although gold has already established its reputation worldwide, people question when institutions allocate portions of their idle cash to BTC.
However, he believes that the crypto market has come a long way with the resounding success of Bitcoin exchange-traded products and the notable surge of pro-crypto lawmakers. “But until Bitcoin is as boring as gold — widely held by central banks and institutions alike — it’s by definition still early,” he explained.
The CIO’s $500,000 price target is based on the present $20 trillion store of value sector. This figure combines gold’s $18 trillion market with Bitcoin’s estimated $2 trillion. In his opinion, a mature Bitcoin would at least make up for an equal share of this market. For Bitcoin to hold 50% of this market, its price would need to reach roughly $500,000.
Hougan notes that governments currently hold approximately 2% of all the Bitcoin, which pales in comparison to the 20% of the world’s gold reserves. For BTC to be worth half a million dollars, this glaring gap should narrow. This could happen as the new Trump administration is expected to fuel increased institutional growth in Bitcoin, with Senator Cynthia Lummis pushing to establish a national BTC reserve similar to the gold reserve. Under the proposal, the U.S. could buy up to 5% of Bitcoin’s total supply using government money.
“If we start to see that happen, $500K Bitcoin is fully within view. Until then, it’s still early,” Hogan asserted. Could we see $1 million Bitcoin? Higher? Absolutely. But $500K feels like a good start.”
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