Institutional Shift Could Send Bitcoin Price Soaring to $1.3 Million by 2035

Bitwise Asset Management's Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan believes that if just 1% of the $100 trillion to $200 trillion in global institutional assets were to shift towards Bitcoin, it could push the price up to a staggering $1.3 million by 2035.

Hougan based his calculation on the growth rate of gold's market value over the past two decades. From around $2 trillion when gold ETFs launched in 2004, gold's market cap has grown to approximately $30 trillion today, with an annualized growth rate of about 13%. If this trend continues for another decade and Bitcoin takes a 25% share of the store-of-value market, Hougan estimates that each coin would be worth around $1.3 million.

Hougan points out that the necessary capital to reach these prices already exists in the form of institutional assets held by foundations, endowments, pension plans, insurance companies, sovereign wealth funds, and central banks. He notes that financial advisers and family offices are already starting to move into Bitcoin, with some firms like Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo expanding client access.

However, Hougan warns that the shift towards institutional capital will take time, potentially over a decade or more. He also acknowledges that Strategy's structural advantage in buying Bitcoin has largely disappeared, as the company built its position by exploiting now-weakened capital market conditions.