What's next for Bitcoin?
Key Takeaways
- Bitcoin is both the original and largest cryptocurrency.
- BTC exchange-traded funds could be coming onto the market soon.
- What’s next for Bitcoin?
- Some Bitcoin price predictions say BTC could break past $100,000 by 2026.
Bitcoin is the biggest cryptocurrency out there. When something happens to it, it has an impact on the entire cryptosphere. In 2023, the coin was bolstered by the news that a range of Bitcoin-based exchange-traded funds (ETFs) could potentially come onto the market.
On the other hand, when Elon Musk’s SpaceX sold millions of dollars worth of BTC, the market crashed.
Bitcoin did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
But what is Bitcoin (BTC)? How does Bitcoin work? Let’s see what we can find out, and also take a look at some of the Bitcoin Price Predictions that were being made as of August 31 2023.
Bitcoin Price Prediction
Let’s examine some of the Bitcoin price predictions being made on August 31 2023. It is crucial to bear in mind that price forecasts, particularly for a potentially volatile asset like cryptocurrency, often turn out to be inaccurate. Additionally, please remember that many long-term crypto price predictions are generated using algorithms, which means they can change at any time.
| 2023 | 2025 | 2030 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prediction #1 | $25,212 | $30,884 | $231,706 |
| Prediction #2 | $54,928 | $94,758 | $280,592 |
| Prediction #3 | $33,257 | $68,191 | $446,012 |
CoinCodex had a fairly optimistic short-term Bitcoin price prediction. It said BTC would hit $ 30,830 by September 5 before dipping slightly to $30,516 by 30 September. The site’s technical analysis was neutral, with 16 indicators sending bullish signals and 14 making bearish ones.
Bitcoin Price Prediction for 2023
LongForecast made a BTC price prediction which saw the coin fall to $25,212 by the end of the year. DigitalCoinPrice said it would get to $54,298 by December and PricePrediction.net thought Bitcoin would trade at $33,257 in 2023.
Bitcoin Price Prediction for 2025
Moving forward, DigitalCoinPrice thought Bitcoin would trade at $94,758 in two years time. PricePrediction.net’s Bitcoin Price Forecast said it would get to $68,191 that year. LongForecast was more cautious, saying BTC would close 2025 at $30,884.
Bitcoin Price Prediction for 2030
Looking at a more long-term Bitcoin price prediction, PricePrediction.net thought BTC would reach $446,012 in 2030. DigitalCoinPrice said it would hit $280,592 that year. Bitnation said Bitcoin would trade at $231,706 at the start of the next decade.
Recent Updates from Bitcoin
SpaceX offloaded a large chunk of its Bitcoin holdings in the middle of August, crashing both BTC and the crypto market. Later in the month, though, an American court ruled that the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had failed to provide a proper reason why it rejected a Bitcoin ETF. The court said the SEC should review its decision. This news saw BTC make something of a recovery.
Bitcoin Price Analysis
The price of Bitcoin has been falling July 13 when it reached a yearly high of around $31,750. From there, it dropped about 20% to around $25,300 on August 19. After that it spiked to about $28,200 on August 28.
By the time of writing (August 31) BTC had dropped again. August 28’s levels were a lower high than on previous upturns.
If the price doesn’t start going up again, it could mean that the price of BTC will fall back down.The Relative Strength Index (RSI) indicator says when an asset it overbought or oversold. Considering a mark of 70% suggests something is overbought, BTC reaching 82% on the chart suggests it will drop back down soon.
The shape of the Bitcoin price chart also suggests that we have completed an uptrend and BTC is now bearish. If Bitcoin’s recent downturn was just a correction from being overbought, it could fall to $22,000 before recovering. If we are in a bear cycle, however, BTC could fall all the way down to around $12,000.
BTC Price History
Now, let’s examine some of the highlights and lowlights of the Bitcoin price history . While we should never take past performance as an indicator of future results, knowing what the coin has achieved can provide us with some very useful context if we want to make or interpret a Bitcoin price prediction.
When Bitcoin first came onto the open market in 2009 it was, perhaps inevitably, not worth anything. As more people started buying, selling, trading and using it, its price moved to $0.09 in 2010. It broke past the dollar in early 2011 and even managed some time above $10 later in the year. There were plenty of peaks and troughs, but it was able to top three figures in 2013, before things fell down in 2014 only to recover the following year.
In 2017, it rose past $1,000. The crypto bubble of late 2017 saw it reach a high of more than $17,000. The following year saw a dip to below $10,000 as the market entered a so-called crypto winter, but 2021 was the year where both BTC and crypto as a whole blossomed. Bitcoin had a couple of peaks, reaching a high of more than $60,000 in April before the market slumped over the summer. After that, though, things picked up again and the coin reached an all-time high of $68,789.63 on November 10 2021. It closed the year at $45,819.95.
In the following year, though, things got bad for the entire crypto market, with a series of crashes leaving BTC trading at below $20,000 in November. On December 31 2022, it was worth $16,517.52. This represented an annual loss of nearly 65%, in line with the overall crypto market.
Bitcoin in 2023
So far, 2023 has been mildly encouraging and it went past $30,000 for a few days in April before going on a decline which culminated in a low of $24,797 on 15 June. At that time, the market was in a downturn following the SEC suing the Coinbase and Binance exchanges, even if BTC was not listed as a potential unregistered security in the regulator’s legal filings.
In late June, the price shot up, as excitement about ETFs grew and on June 21 it broke through $30,000 for the first time in more than two months. Over the course of the next month or so, it hovered around that level, spending more time above it than below it.
By the end of July, it was worth less than $30,000. The market crash of August 17 saw it fall more than 10% from $28,745.95 to $25,409.11.
The news about the Grayscale ETF saw it shoot past $28,000 on August 29 and, on August 31 2023, BTC was worth about $27,240. At that time, there were about 19.47 BTC in circulation, representing the total supply. This gave it a market cap of around $540bn and left it as the single largest crypto by that metric.
Is Bitcoin a Good Investment?
Bitcoin is the biggest crypto out there. What happens to Bitcoin often ends up happening to other cryptocurrencies, big or small, too. While it is currently worth less than half of its November 2021 all-time high, it is still dominant.
It has spearheaded the boom in cryptocurrency and has maintained its market position over the last decade. This means it appears as if it should remain the world’s largest cryptocurrency for some time to come.
To put it another way, for a great many people across the world, Bitcoin and cryptocurrency are synonymous. Nevertheless, with regulators having it in their sites, you should exercise caution. Cryptocurrencies can be incredibly volatile, and it will be some time before BTC reaches the heights it previously enjoyed. It is always possible there will be further lows before that can happen.
As ever with crypto, you will need to make sure you do your own research before deciding whether or not to invest in BTC.
Will Bitcoin go up or down?
No one can really tell right now. While the Bitcoin crypto price predictions are largely positive, price predictions have a well-earned reputation for being wrong. Keep in mind, too, that prices can, and do, go down as well as up.
Should I invest in Bitcoin?
Before you decide whether or not to invest in Bitcoin, you will have to do your own research, not only on BTC, but on other, related, coins and tokens such as Bitcoin Cash (BCH) or Bitcoin SV (BSV). Either way, you will also need to make sure that you never invest more money than you can afford to lose.
From the Whitepaper
In its technical documentation, or whitepaper , Bitcoin says it aims to make internet transactions easier and safer.
It says: “Commerce on the Internet has come to rely almost exclusively on financial institutions serving as trusted third parties to process electronic payments. While the system works well enough for most transactions, it still suffers from the inherent weaknesses of the trust based model.”
It goes on to add: “What is needed is an electronic payment system based on cryptographic proof instead of trust, allowing any two willing parties to transact directly with each other without the need for a trusted third party. Transactions that are computationally impractical to reverse would protect sellers from fraud, and routine escrow mechanisms could easily be implemented to protect buyers.”
Bitcoin (BTC) Explained
Bitcoin is, pretty much, the original cryptocurrency. Pseudonymous creator Satoshi Nakamoto created it in 2008.
Founded in the wake of the recession of the late 2000s, Bitcoin serves as an alternative to traditional, fiat currency.
While fiat currency relies on centralization, Bitcoin is decentralized. It is based on the Bitcoin blockchain, a decentralized electronic ledger.
How Bitcoin Works
Bitcoin uses Proof-of-Work (PoW) consensus mechanism. This means people earn Bitcoin by solving increasingly complex mathematical equations to add blocks of transactions to the chain in a process called mining. There is a maximum supply of 21 million bitcoin, Miners’ rewards are halved every four years or so. Rewards have been 6.25 BTC per block since 11 May 2020 and will halve again in 2024.
Bitcoin itself can buy things in the real world and it is legal tender in both El Salvador and the Central African Republic.
People can buy, sell, and trade Bitcoin on cryptocurrency exchanges.
FAQs
It might do, but not for a while. Both Bitnation and DigitalCoinPrice think it will get to six figures in 2026, while PricePrediction.net says it will break $100,000 in 2027. Remember that the highest Bitcoin has ever traded at is $68,789.63, which it reached in November 2021. Bitcoin is a store of value. It can be used to pay for a range of goods and services in the real world. It is legal tender in El Salvador and the Central African Republic. People can also buy, sell, and trade it on crypto exchanges.Will Bitcoin reach $100,000?
What is Bitcoin used for?
Further reading
IOTA Price Prediction 2023: What is IOTA (MIOTA)?
Ethereum Price Prediction 2023: What is Ethereum (ETH)?
Litecoin Price Prediction 2023: What is Litecoin (LTC)?
Disclaimer
Please note that the contents of this article are not financial or investing advice. The information provided in this article is the author’s opinion only and should not be considered as offering trading or investing recommendations. We do not make any warranties about the completeness, reliability and accuracy of this information. The cryptocurrency market suffers from high volatility and occasional arbitrary movements. Any investor, trader, or regular crypto users should research multiple viewpoints and be familiar with all local regulations before committing to an investment.
