Bitcoin’s
resilience continues to impress market observers as the world’s largest
cryptocurrency maintains its upward trajectory in 2025. Currently hovering
around $97,000, Bitcoin has staged a remarkable recovery since its 2022 bottom
of approximately $16,000. But the burning question on everyone’s mind remains:
how high can Bitcoin go?

Joe
Burnett, Director of Market Research at Unchained, believes we’re only
scratching the surface of Bitcoin’s potential, with forecasts of $250,000 this
year and a staggering $1 million by 2030.

“I
definitely would not be surprised at all to see $200,000 Bitcoin or $250,000
Bitcoin this year,” Burnett stated during a recent Cointelegraph Chain
Reaction show on X (formerly Twitter). His bullish outlook isn’t merely wishful
thinking but grounded in several converging factors.

Burnett
points to improving macroeconomic conditions as a key driver: “Looking at
the current macro setup for Bitcoin, global M2 is starting to break out, the
VIX hit a recent all-time high that we didn’t see since literally March 2020
and before that December 2008.”

I’ll be pondering bitcoin this morning with my friends at @Cointelegraph! https://t.co/DyOxIVk4RF

— Joe Burnett, MSBA (@IIICapital)

May 1, 2025

This period
of market stress could be setting the stage for a significant rally. As Burnett
explains, “When the bottom is in on assets and global liquidity starts
expanding, I think that’s the moment in time you want to get on the fastest
horse, and I believe the fastest horse is Bitcoin.”

The
institutional adoption wave continues to gather momentum. Corporate
treasuries like MicroStrategy and newly formed entities like 21 Capital are
aggressively accumulating Bitcoin, often borrowing dollars to do so. This trend
of “speculative attacks” on fiat currency could accelerate Bitcoin’s
rise.

“If
the price starts running, I think individuals within corporations and
governments will feel the same FOMO,” Burnett notes. “There could be
fear also of losing things… my assets are actually going down measured in
Bitcoin.”

The Path to $1 Million
Bitcoin by 2030

Looking
further ahead, Burnett believes Bitcoin could reach $1 million by 2030,
representing more than a 10x increase from current levels. This projection is
supported by his analysis of
Bitcoin’s fundamental advantages over traditional stores of value.

“Gold-Bitcoin
parity right now is like over $1,000,000 per Bitcoin. So that’s over a 10X at
this point,” Burnett explained. “And arguably, in my opinion, Bitcoin
is significantly better than gold. It’s multiples or magnitudes better than gold
itself because it’s perfectly scarce and it can be teleported over the
internet.”

When may bitcoin hit $50mm?

h/t @saylor pic.twitter.com/oQMmZ0VPKB

— Joe Burnett, MSBA (@IIICapital)

May 1, 2025

Bitcoin’s
unique monetary properties give it an edge over both traditional assets and
other cryptocurrencies. As Burnett articulates, “Bitcoin is the least
uncertain monetary tool. It’s not perfectly certain because nothing on Earth is
perfectly certain, but it has the least amount of uncertainty and the monetary
policy for Bitcoin in particular is the most immutable.”

Bitcoin Price Today Tests February Highs

Bitcoin’s
recent upward movement appears to be less about fundamental demand and more
about structural fragility in the market, according to Dr. Kirill Kretov at
CoinPanel. He explains that:

“The
US-China trade talks are clearly market-moving and, together with broadly
supportive macro data, have helped fuel a more bullish narrative for crypto.
Hopes for Fed rate cuts later this year add to that momentum.”

However,
Kretov emphasizes that the rally may not be driven by genuine investor
conviction. Instead, he cautions:

“Much of
the recent volatility is artificial. Our latest research indicates that
significant liquidity has been steadily withdrawn from exchanges since
November, leaving the market increasingly thin, fragile, and highly susceptible
to outsized moves.”

In this
context, he adds: “Volatility has become the new normal, and in this
environment, 10% swings in either direction should be anticipated but not
over-explained.”

Bitcoin Price Forecasts
2025, 2026, 2027, 2028, 2029, 2030 Table

Cathie
Wood’s ARK Invest projects Bitcoin could reach between $1.5 million and $2.4
million by 2030, driven by institutional adoption and demand for BTC as an
asset class.

Options
Market (Deribit) traders are
placing bets on Bitcoin reaching $300,000 by June 2025, reflecting bullish
sentiment in the options market.

Bitcoin vs. Fiat vs.
Crypto

Understanding
how Bitcoin differs from both fiat currencies and other cryptocurrencies helps
explain its potential for substantial growth. Burnett offers a clear
distinction:

“With
Bitcoin, no one can print money. Bitcoin kind of is the best of both worlds
when it comes to its scarcity and portability, it’s extremely scarce. It’s also
extremely portable.”

This stands
in stark contrast to fiat currencies, which central banks can and do print at
will, and other cryptocurrencies, which lack Bitcoin’s immutable monetary
policy and network effects.

Bitcoin is censorship resistant money.

Payments and savings cannot be censored.

Most people don’t have issues with payment censorship, but everyone has issues with savings censorship (fiat monetary debasement).

Bitcoin as savings solves a $500T problem.

— Joe Burnett, MSBA (@IIICapital)

May 4, 2025

Global Liquidity and
Bitcoin’s Price

One of the
most compelling correlations supporting higher Bitcoin prices is global
liquidity. Burnett notes that “global liquidity and there’s various
different ways that you could define that… they found a very high correlation
with Bitcoin and global liquidity.”

Historical
data shows that when global M2 (a measure of money supply) increases, Bitcoin
tends to experience parabolic price movements. With global liquidity
measurements starting to increase again after years of stagnation, conditions
appear favorable for another significant Bitcoin rally.

“For the last 30 years, the effective cost of capital has been the S&P 500 index. This is the benchmark your capital has to return to [avoid] getting poorer.

The S&P 500 index has gone up 7% per year for [last] 50 years, while the U.S. dollar currency supply has gone up 7%.… pic.twitter.com/gKZuniE9ee

— Anil ⚡ (@anilsaidso)

May 2, 2025

The Sovereign Race for
Bitcoin

Perhaps the
most intriguing catalyst for Bitcoin’s potential rise is the emerging
competition among nation-states to acquire it. With the US executive order
establishing a National
Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Senator Cynthia Lummis proposing legislation
to facilitate government Bitcoin purchases, the stage could be set for an
international race to accumulate the scarce digital asset.

“At
some point it’s only a matter of time before people really catch on to what’s
happening,” Burnett explains. “If you can do that and other countries
can do that, why don’t we start spending our money that we can print on the
only money that can’t be printed, which would be Bitcoin.”

For
long-term Bitcoin holders, Michael Saylor’s insight resonates: “It’s not
about moving $1 billion from here to Tokyo. It’s about moving $1 billion from
here to 2040.” With forecasts of $250,000 this year and $1 million by
2030, Bitcoin’s journey appears to be just beginning.

Bitcoin News, FAQ

How high can Bitcoin go in
2030?

Several
analysts foresee significant upside for Bitcoin by 2030. Joe Burnett of
Unchained projects a price of $1 million, citing Bitcoin’s scarce supply,
increasing institutional adoption, and growing global liquidity. Cathie Wood’s
ARK Invest offers even more ambitious forecasts, suggesting Bitcoin could reach
between $1.5 million and $2.4 million in a bullish scenario. These estimates
reflect the belief that Bitcoin will continue to gain traction as a store of
value and hedge against fiat currency debasement.

Can Bitcoin reach $1
million?

Yes,
reaching $1 million by 2030 is within the range of multiple analysts’ long-term
forecasts. Burnett argues that Bitcoin’s monetary properties—finite supply,
portability, and immutability—support a valuation comparable or superior to
gold. With expanding institutional interest and potential national-level
accumulation, a $1 million Bitcoin is increasingly viewed as plausible,
especially if global liquidity continues to rise.

What will 1 Bitcoin be
worth in 2050?

While
specific forecasts for 2050 are scarce, projections imply that if current
adoption trends continue and Bitcoin displaces traditional stores of value like
gold, its price could exceed $1 million by a wide margin. Analysts like Robert
Kiyosaki predict $1 million by 2035, which suggests even higher valuations may
be possible by 2050—contingent on macroeconomic trends, monetary policy, and
Bitcoin’s regulatory environment.

How high could Bitcoin
realistically go?

Realistic
projections depend on global economic conditions, institutional adoption, and
Bitcoin’s role in future financial systems. For now, estimates range from
$250,000 in the near term (2025) to $1 million or more by 2030. Factors such as
expanding money supply, sovereign accumulation strategies, and Bitcoin’s unique
scarcity support these forecasts. However, price growth will likely remain
volatile and subject to macroeconomic and geopolitical variables.