Will Bitcoin hit $200,000 this year?

Bernstein analysts expects that to happen by the end of 2025, according to a Monday research note.

Bitcoin trades at $105,108.

What’s going to drive the price rally? A “new institutional era,” wrote Gautam Chhugani and his two colleagues in a note to investors on May 19.

Ten global asset managers now collectively hold $60 billion worth of Bitcoin via exchange-traded funds, said Bernstein analysts. That’s a five-fold increase from September 2022.

Bitcoin ETFs hold over 1.1 million Bitcoin worth $121 billion, according to Dune Analytics.

Bullish conditions

The top cryptocurrency has macro tailwinds, political breathing room, and Wall Street interest — all at once.

US President Donald Trump’s administration has plugged crypto allies into key policy roles with the aim to ease regulatory pressure on the industry.

Additionally, Bitcoin’s price performance amid the tumultuous trade war between the US and China, has incentivised institutions to add the asset to their portfolios, said Jay Jacobs, BlackRock’s US head of equity ETFs.

Widespread optimism

This relentless accumulation will likely continue, said Bernstein analysts.

“We expect Wall Street to replace Satoshi as the top Bitcoin wallet,” they added, referring to Satoshi Nakamoto, Bitcoin’s mysterious founder who holds over $115 billion worth of the cryptocurrency.

The prediction comes on the back of similar projections made by industry insiders.

Bitcoin could probably hit $120,000 by the first week of June, Utkarsh Ahuja, managing partner at Moon Pursuit Capital, a hedge fund and venture capital firm, told DL News in May.

Standard Chartered’s top crypto analyst also predicts Bitcoin will hit$120,000 by the end of this quarter, before surging to $200,000 by the end of the year.

Former BitMEX co-founder and crypto angel investor Arthur Hayes said Bitcoin will topple $1 million by the end of Trump’s second presidency in 2028.

Pedro Solimano is a markets correspondent based in Buenos Aires. Got a tip? Email him atpsolimano@dlnews.com.