Bitwise Boosts Bitcoin Price Target to $1.6 Million Amidst Rising Institutional Demand

Bitwise Boosts Bitcoin Price Forecast to $1.6 Million Amid Growing Institutional Interest

Asset manager Bitwise has significantly raised its long-term price target for Bitcoin, projecting it could reach $1.6 million by 2036. This upward revision from a previous $1.3 million forecast comes despite a challenging year for the cryptocurrency, with Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan citing an updated model that indicates stronger long-term growth potential.

The new prediction is underpinned by expectations of expanding institutional demand and a growing market for store-of-value assets.

Revised Projections Highlight Maturing Market Structure

Bitwise released its “2027 Bitcoin Long-Term Capital Market Assumptions” report on October 28, forecasting a compound annual growth rate of 34.3% for Bitcoin over the next decade. This represents an increase from last year’s model, which projected annualized returns of 28.3%.

The revised forecast follows a period where Bitcoin experienced a more than 50% decline between October 2025 and June 2026, before recovering from lows below $59,000. Bitwise views this recent downturn as evidence of a maturing market structure for Bitcoin.

Capturing a Trillion-Dollar Market

Bitwise’s price prediction is built on the potential market share Bitcoin could capture. The firm estimates the global store-of-value market could expand to $110 trillion by 2036, an increase from its prior estimate of $91 trillion. Concurrently, the institutional investment market is expected to grow from $216 trillion to $303 trillion.

The model assumes Bitcoin will capture 25% of the store-of-value market, with institutions allocating between 1% and 5% of their portfolios to the cryptocurrency. This could translate into institutional demand ranging from $1.5 trillion to $7.4 trillion. With new Bitcoin issuance contributing an estimated $14 billion annually, Bitwise sees a significant gap between potential demand and new supply, fueling its optimistic outlook.

Even in a bear-case scenario, Bitwise anticipates Bitcoin could reach $130,686 by 2036, while its bull case suggests a potential price of nearly $3.67 million, underscoring the wide range of possible outcomes.

Beyond Store of Value: Expanding Utility

While institutional adoption is a key driver, the long-term appeal of Bitcoin is also bolstered by its limited supply, making it an attractive alternative to traditional stores of value. Furthermore, the expansion of Bitcoin’s practical uses beyond simple holding could further strengthen demand.

This has spurred innovation in projects developing additional functionality on the Bitcoin network. Layer-2 solutions are emerging to facilitate faster transactions, reduce costs, and enable applications that are challenging to run directly on Bitcoin’s base layer.

One such project, Bitcoin Hyper, is developing a Layer-2 network that integrates Bitcoin-specific features with Solana Virtual Machine architecture. The aim is to support faster BTC transactions, decentralized finance applications, and other on-chain activities. The project has reportedly raised over $33 million through its token presale and is offering staking rewards of up to 35% APY. Its wallet has entered testnet testing, with a planned token launch date of November 26, 2026.

If Bitcoin reaches Bitwise’s $1.6 million target, projects like Bitcoin Hyper could benefit from a significant influx of capital, driven by increasing demand for faster, lower-cost Bitcoin transactions and Bitcoin-powered decentralized finance.