When Will Bitcoin Hit $100K? Here's What Crypto Experts Predict
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Bitcoin is setting record after record on a huge post-election run, and its price is now getting into the vicinity of $100,000 — an achievement that would be one of the biggest milestones in cryptocurrency history.
On Thursday, Bitcoin was trading around $91,000 after briefly surpassing $93,000 for the first time ever on Wednesday. Meanwhile, momentum from President-elect Donald Trump's win hasn't slowed: This week, Trump announced Tesla CEO and crypto enthusiast Elon Musk will co-lead a department of government efficiency, or "DOGE," a nod to the Musk-favorite memecoin of the same name.
Crypto insiders are now getting excited about the possibility of six-digit bitcoin pricing, which many see as imminent. But with the volatility of an asset like bitcoin, there's still an awareness that nothing is guaranteed.
“A rally towards $100,000 by early to mid-December is plausible, potentially followed by a typical market correction as investors rebalance and take profits,” Martin Leinweber, digital asset researcher at MarketVector Indexes, told Money.
Why is bitcoin's price surging?
The crypto industry and President Joe Biden's administration have battled over regulation and clashed in the courts. Vice President Kamala Harris, who ran against Trump, didn't give crypto issues top billing in her campaign, leading some to fear a continued crypto crackdown if she won.
Trump, on the other hand, courted the crypto world during his campaign and received major donations from industry executives. Trump and his sons are also involved with a crypto venture of their own: a token called World Liberty Financial.
With his victory, investors have newfound optimism knowing the next presidential administration is likely to take a pro-crypto approach. Changes in leadership at the Securities and Exchange Commission and other government agencies could mean less regulation and oversight of cryptocurrency, for example.
"Investors are seeing the headwinds that crypto has been fighting for years suddenly dissipate. In many instances, the headwinds (like an adversarial SEC and anti-crypto administration) are shifting to tailwinds, set to propel the industry forward for the next four years," Ryan Rasmussen, head of research at Bitwise, writes in an email.
Rasmussen says it's not too late to get in on the crypto rally. He's looking beyond a $100,000 price target and predicts bitcoin trending to $200,000 in 2025. However, buying bitcoin at high valuations has backfired for many investors in the past, and large price swings in the other direction are possible given the asset's extreme volatility.
When could bitcoin hit $100K?
A year ago, bitcoin was trading around $37,000. Prices have surged over 150% since then, hitting $40,000 on Dec. 3, 2023, $60,000 on Feb. 28 and $80,000 on Sunday. The overall crypto market cap surpassed $3 trillion earlier this week for the first time since 2021.
Given this pace, Markus Thielen, CEO of the cryptocurrency research company 10x Research, has predicted a $100,000 value for bitcoin by Christmas.
“With Trump’s inauguration scheduled for Jan. 20, 2025, the market is likely to anticipate his follow-through on crypto promises,” including a transition to a less aggressive regulatory framework, he wrote in a brief. Fewer rules, of course, equal more freedom for crypto investors — many of whom were drawn to the asset in the first place because it's decentralized.
Prior to the 30%-plus price spike in the days since the election, bitcoin was already on a good run this year. The bitcoin halving event, which drove up prices and reduced rewards for bitcoin mining, as well as the introduction of bitcoin ETFs, which made crypto investing accessible to a more mainstream audience, are often cited as factors that have jolted prices in 2024.
Remember: Bitcoin is volatile, and its price could always slide backwards. For example, after Bitcoin hit $68,790 in November 2021, the price fell about 78% to under $17,000 — and took years to climb back up.
That said, the traditional stock market also reached record highs this week. The S&P 500 is around 6,000 and up over 32% from a year ago. Expectations for less taxation and a friendlier business environment under longtime magnate Trump are fueling stock gains. Overall, sentiment among investors is upbeat.
"For years, working and investing in crypto has felt like an uphill battle. But, at a minimum, that hill is leveling out," Rasmussen said. "And in a best case scenario, we’re likely coasting for a while."
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