Bitcoin’s growing acceptance among institutional investors could deliver the steady inflows needed to surpass gold’s market value and propel its price beyond $1 million by 2029, according to André Dragosch, Bitwise’s head of European research.
“Our internal forecast is $1 million by 2029, meaning Bitcoin could match gold’s total market cap and addressable market by then,” Dragosch said during Cointelegraph’s Chain Reaction show on April 30.
Gold remains the world’s largest asset, valued at over $21.7 trillion, while Bitcoin’s market cap is around $1.9 trillion—ranking it the seventh-largest asset globally, based on CompaniesMarketCap data.
For the 2025 cycle, Dragosch predicts Bitcoin could reach $200,000 under typical conditions, and as high as $500,000 if government adoption accelerates.
“If the US government steps in, that shifts the projection closer to $500,000,” Dragosch explained, referencing discussions about the US potentially acquiring Bitcoin through “budget-neutral” methods.
Bo Hines, a member of the Presidential Council of Advisers for Digital Assets, noted in an April 14 interview that the US is exploring innovative ways to fund Bitcoin purchases, including using tariff revenue and reassessing gold certificate values—allowing the government to build BTC reserves without selling off gold holdings.
ETF inflows and institutional demand could extend Bitcoin’s growth
Dragosch highlighted that US-based spot Bitcoin ETFs have far outperformed initial expectations in their debut year, with record trading volumes—particularly BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust, which became the fastest-growing ETF ever.
“The first year is generally the slowest for ETFs,” Dragosch said, comparing it to the launch of the gold ETF. “That suggests inflows will increase in years two and three, which could extend this Bitcoin cycle.”
He also pointed out that major US brokerages—known as wirehouses, like Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley—have yet to fully open their platforms to Bitcoin ETFs, leaving significant room for further institutional adoption.
“When these wirehouses join in, it could unleash massive capital inflows,” Dragosch said, noting that wirehouses collectively manage more than $10 trillion in client assets.
