Key Takeaways
- Bullish bitcoin price targets for the year-end range from $120,000 to $200,000, suggesting upside, with analysts saying the worst of October’s derivatives-linked rout in crypto markets is in the rearview mirror.
- Crypto-linked stocks Coinbase Global and Robinhood got a lift Monday, while MicroStrategy is flat.
The price of bitcoin is edging upward again. Its latest slide hasn’t scared off the bulls, who are out with new upbeat targets as the coin tests a recovery.
The price of the world’s most well-known cryptocurrency may soon return to previous highs, Wall Street analysts say. Their 2025 outlooks for bitcoin (BTCUSD) range from about $120,000 to $200,000, a gap that reflects uncertainty about the near-term outlook but also expresses the belief that the worst of the recent sell-off is behind us.
There isn’t, however, unanimity about what could drive prices higher. Some crypto watchers have said that the possibility that the U.S. government shutdown could come to an end is bullish for bitcoin and other risk assets. Others have suggested that more reasons for investor caution could push investors back toward bitcoin as a hedge against uncertainty.
WHY THIS MATTERS TO YOU
Bitcoin appears to be at a crossroads, now that the negativity triggered by the Oct. 10 crash, is fading. However, it also seems to be lacking a clear set of catalysts that would draw sidelined investors back in.
Bitcoin prices, which last week touched levels below $100,000 for the first time in months, appear to be bouncing in the last 24 hours, recently touching levels around $106,000, according to research platform Messari. So are some other crypto bets: Solana (SOLUSD) is recovering at a faster pace than other altcoins, up compared to ether’s (ETHUSD) sideways crawl as of Monday afternoon. Crypto-linked stocks are also getting a lift, albeit unevenly, with Coinbase Global (COIN) and Robinhood (HOOD) jumping more than 3% while Strategy (MSTR), which is down slightly.
Fundstrat’s Tom Lee, something of a risk-asset permabull, told CNBC last week that the S&P 500 could reach 7500 by the end of the year. He also said he expects bitcoin to jump back to its record highs, with the Oct. 10 crash and its ripple effects fading. “I still think we can get to $150,000 to $200,000 for bitcoin and something like $7,000 for ethereum,” Lee said. “At the beginning of the year, the firm set its 2025 price target for bitcoin at $175,000.
Crypto-focused financial services firm Galaxy last week lowered its year-end target to $120,000 from $185,000, saying the Oct. 10 wipeout “materially damaged the bull market trends.” Galaxy’s head of research Alex Thorn wrote in a note last week that while he remains bullish over the long term, that bitcoin has entered a “maturity era,” marked by institutional adoption, passive flows from spot ETFs, and lower volatility.
“If bitcoin can maintain the ~$100k level, we believe the almost three-year bull market will remain structurally intact, though the pace of future gains may be slower,” he said.
Cathie Wood, Ark Invest’s CEO, has shaved $300,000 off her 2030 bitcoin price target to $1.2 million from a previous $1.5 million. Wood told CNBC last week that stablecoins are fulfilling a role in payments and remittances, a function she previously expected bitcoin to play.
And JPMorgan analyst Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou, reiterated his view that bitcoin prices could rise on the premise of what he called “debasement trade,”noting that much of the derivatives-related pressure related to the mid-October pullback—when more than $19 billion in leveraged positions were liquidated—now appears to have eased.
Based on the difference between bitcoin’s price and the firm’s volatility-adjusted comparison to gold prices, the digital asset should theoretically reach a price near $170,000, he said in a note last week.
