Bitcoin (BTC) price predictions for 2026
All-time high and after a big drop bitcoin Last year, industry executives and investors told CNBC that the cryptocurrency could reach new highs in 2026, but that would have the potential for huge volatility.
In CNBC’s annual roundup of Bitcoin predictions, many commentators predict Bitcoin prices will fall as low as $75,000 and rise as high as $225,000 in 2026.
Last October, Bitcoin reached a record high of over $126,000 before falling to lows around $80,000 later in the year, according to CoinMetrics. Bitcoin is approximately 30% below its all-time high.
Over the past year, the crypto market has been buoyed by what is seen as a more favorable regulatory environment in the United States under President Donald Trump and growing interest from larger institutional investors and traditional financial players such as banks.
Meanwhile, there has been a boom in digital asset treasury (DAT) companies accumulating large amounts of bitcoin and other digital currencies.
Bitcoin price last year.
At the same time, debates continue about the valuation of technology stocks and whether the AI boom will turn into a bubble.
Crypto sales at the end of the year also took place in this context. Forced liquidations occurred as investors revalued risky assets and crypto holders sold digital currencies, further exacerbating the sell-off. This situation created a difficult ground for 2026.
“We’re in a complex investment environment. Stock valuations are tense, the geopolitical environment is chaotic and evolving, there are fears about the short-term durability of AI capex, monetary policy conditions appear to be changing, and the US midterm elections are on the horizon,” Galaxy head of research Alex Thorn told CNBC.
“In this context, it is difficult to predict Bitcoin’s outlook in 2026.”
Here are some of the boldest predictions for Bitcoin price in 2026.
Carol Alexander: $75,000-$150,000
In 2026, Bitcoin will remain in a “high volatility range” between $75,000 and $150,000. According to University of Sussex finance professor Carol Alexander, the center of gravity is around $110,000.
This “at a time when the market is digesting the shift from retail-led cycles to institutionally distributed liquidity.” Historically, Bitcoin’s price has been driven by retail traders. However, in the last two years, an increasing number of institutional investors have become involved in this space. Many cryptocurrency experts expect this to continue this year.
Alexander has a good track record of making bitcoin predictions over the last few years. However, he had previously said that Bitcoin could reach $200,000 in 2026, but this did not happen. But by the summer of 2025, Bitcoin could trade “around $150,000 plus or minus $50,000,” he said. Indeed, in the summer of 2025, Bitcoin was trading above $100,000.
CoinShares: $120,000 – $170,000
James Butterfill, head of research at crypto-focused asset manager CoinShares, expects to see Bitcoin in the $120,000 to $170,000 range in 2026, with “more constructive price action likely to occur in the second half of the year.”
Butterfill said investors will be watching to see who will be the next chairman of the Federal Reserve after Jerome Powell’s term ends in May. Butterfill said the new person was “likely to be dovish” but that markets would wait for clarity “before re-pricing risk assets more decisively.”
Investors are also focusing on whether legislation known as the Clarity Act in the United States will become law in 2026. The Clarity Act aims to create a framework for regulating digital assets.
“Regulation has been a persistent overhang; the solution here could be a meaningful catalyst,” Butterfill said.
Butterfill cited risks such as inflation shocks or policy mistakes by the Fed as reasons for demand for “alternative, non-sovereign monetary assets” like Bitcoin.
In December 2024, Butterfill predicted that Bitcoin could fall to around $80,000 in 2025, and it did. He also said that Bitcoin could have risen to $150,000 last year but failed to do so.
Standard Chartered: $150,000
Standard Chartered’s Bitcoin price forecast for 2026 is $150,000, which it lowered from its previous prediction of $300,000 in December.
Geoff Kendrick, the bank’s head of global digital asset research, said the price decline seen in 2025 was “within expected limits.” However, price action led Standard Chartered to revise its call.
“Specifically, we think buying Bitcoin digital asset treasuries (DAT) is likely over as valuations no longer support further Bitcoin DAT expansion. We expect consolidation rather than outright selling, but buying DAT is unlikely to provide further support,” Kendrick said in a December note.
DATs are entities that purchase and hold cryptocurrency, primarily Bitcoin, and attempt to outperform the market. But the decline in crypto prices This has hurt the valuations of these firms, which some analysts argue could undermine their ability to raise additional financing. Kendrick suggests that these DATs are less likely to buy as much bitcoin as they used to to support the market.
Meanwhile, bitcoin exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, which allow investors to track the price of the digital currency without owning the underlying asset, are likely to boost prices in 2026, according to Kendrick.
“As a result, we now think future Bitcoin price increases will be effectively driven by only one leg: ETF purchasing,” Kendrick said.
Maple Finance: $175,000
Maple Finance CEO Sidney Powell said he has a $175,000 price target for Bitcoin this year, supported by rate cuts and “increasing institutional adoption of bitcoin.”
In December 2024, Powell predicted that there would be some correction in prices in 2025, and this has indeed occurred. There was also a bullish call for Bitcoin between $180,000 and $200,000 for 2025, but this did not materialize.
But he said a big turning point for Bitcoin in 2026 would be when Bitcoin-backed loans exceed $100 billion.
“Bitcoin holders are becoming more sophisticated, they don’t want to sell their BTC; they want to borrow in return. This creates a virtuous cycle: less selling pressure, more benefits, higher prices.”
Bit Mining: $75,000 to $225,000
Bit Mining’s chief economist Youwei Yang also predicts that volatility will continue in Bitcoin. Yang said he expects a wide trading range for Bitcoin between $75,000 and $225,000 in 2026.
“2026 could be a strong year for Bitcoin, supported by potential interest rate cuts and a more accommodating regulatory stance towards crypto,” Yang said. “However, volatility is likely to increase due to ongoing macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainties.”
Yang’s previous call in December 2024 was partially correct. He predicted that Bitcoin could drop to around $80,000 in 2025, and it did. He also predicted that it could trade between $180,000 and $190,000, but this did not happen.
Nexo: $150,000-$200,000
Nexo’s $250,000 call for bitcoin in 2025 was “less a rejection of its long-term thesis and more a result of market mechanics colliding with the changing macro backdrop,” according to Iliya Kalchev, an analyst at the cryptocurrency exchange.
Kalchev said this price did not materialize because long-term holders who had accumulated Bitcoin at lower prices began to sell and were later bought by institutional investors.
But Kalchev said 2026 “looks more constructive” as the phase of long-term holders selling assets ends and institutional allocations are “gradually rising from still modest levels.”
“Bitcoin enters 2026 with less supply risk and a broader capital base,” Kalchev said. he said.
“If financial conditions become more supportive through easing policy, a softer dollar, or renewed liquidity expansion, Bitcoin could revisit and surpass previous highs,” he added.
