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If the pace of institutional adoption picks up, a return to form for Bitcoin is likely in 2026.
At the beginning of 2025, nobody could have predicted this: Bitcoin (BTC +2.31%) fell about 7% last year and is still trading well below the psychologically important $100,000 level.
Although market sentiment on crypto may have soured, there’s no need to give up on Bitcoin. The world’s largest cryptocurrency has never had back-to-back losing years, and there’s reason to think that Bitcoin can return to form in 2026. In fact, I’m predicting that the price of Bitcoin will hit $150,000 in 2026, surpassing its all-time high of about $126,000.
Institutional adoption
The major catalyst for Bitcoin remains institutional adoption. Major financial institutions continue to embrace Bitcoin, and new steps are being taken to further integrate Bitcoin into the global financial system. Maybe Bitcoin has not yet gone fully mainstream, but it certainly has the attention of both Wall Street and the White House.
In 2026, this scale of institutional adoption is likely to pick up. It’s probable that Wall Street banks will continue to roll out new financial products for their customers, including new financial derivatives that are designed to minimize the risk and volatility of holding Bitcoin. That should open the door further to risk-averse institutional investors currently on the fence about buying Bitcoin.
Image source: Getty Images.
Moreover, Michael Saylor, founder and executive chairman of Strategy (MSTR +3.78%), continues to point out that “corporate participation” is at all-time highs. Simply stated, corporations are looking for new ways to add Bitcoin to their balance sheets. At the same time, smaller and medium-sized businesses are looking for ways to make Bitcoin part of their corporate business strategy.
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On this front, the big move in 2026 could be the adoption of Bitcoin by a major tech company in Silicon Valley. That would fundamentally change the narrative around Bitcoin and help to persuade other companies to add Bitcoin to their balance sheets. A similar phenomenon happened in 2021 when Tesla (TSLA 2.15%) first embraced Bitcoin and bought the crypto.
At the same time, the Trump administration continues to make noise with its new pro-Bitcoin policies, including a new policy designed to make it easier to add Bitcoin to 401(k) plans.
One of the biggest moves came in March, with the creation of the U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. Although this reserve still only holds Bitcoin that has been seized or confiscated, it’s possible that it might begin to actively accumulate Bitcoin next year.
If it does so, watch out. Other sovereign nations are likely to follow suit. Some have even speculated that large-scale buying of Bitcoin by the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve might set off a global Bitcoin arms race. That’s almost guaranteed to send the price of Bitcoin soaring next year.
How high can Bitcoin go in 2026?
Given this rising pace of institutional adoption, JPMorgan Chase (JPM +0.09%) has suggested that Bitcoin might hit a price of $170,000 in 2026. And Tom Lee of Fundstrat has suggested that Bitcoin might soar all the way to $250,000.
Today’s Change
(2.31%) $2041.63
Current Price
$90311.00
Key Data Points
Market Cap
$1.8T
Day’s Range
$87967.00 – $90789.00
52wk Range
$74604.47 – $126079.89
Volume
47B
But the bold $1 million price forecasts that were popular at the beginning of 2025 have disappeared for now. Notably, Cathie Wood of Ark Invest recently scaled back her $1.5 million Bitcoin price prediction, warning that stablecoins (i.e., digital currencies pegged 1-to-1 to the dollar or other assets) might be taking away any chance that Bitcoin will ever be used as a digital currency for everyday payments and transactions.
And online prediction markets also do not appear overly optimistic about Bitcoin next year. Right now, traders think that there’s only a 14% chance that Bitcoin will clear the $200,000 hurdle last year.
I’m still optimistic that Bitcoin can increase in value by 70% to hit a price of $150,000 next year. The global macroeconomic outlook is almost certain to improve next year, and investors may finally be willing to embrace Bitcoin as a high-upside risk asset with a surprising amount of downside risk protection. If that’s the case, then Bitcoin is going to hit $150,000 by the end of 2026.