Bitcoin 2026 Price Predictions: Who’s Bullish, Who’s Bearish, And Why?

by | Dec 29, 2025 | General

Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) 2026 price forecasts skew bullish but span an unusually wide range, reflecting diminished confidence in precise targets after widespread forecast misses in 2025.

What Happened: Major institutions and industry leaders, including Tom Lee, JPMorgan, Standard Chartered, Bernstein, Citi, Grayscale, Bitwise, and executives from Ripple and Solana largely expect Bitcoin to set new highs in 2026.

Wu Blockchain highlighted that the common drivers cited are institutional allocation, spot ETF inflows, regulatory clarity, and looser monetary conditions.

Most optimistic forecasts cluster between $150,000 and $200,000, with more aggressive scenarios reaching $250,000.

  • Tom Lee maintains a $200,000–$250,000 range by end-2026, emphasizing small but meaningful institutional allocations. He recommends allocating only 1%–5% to BTC and ETH.
  • Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse forecasts $180,000, while JPMorgan estimates a theoretical fair value near $170,000.
  • JPMorgan analysts argue that BTC’s implied fair value is close to $170,000, leaving upside over the “next 6–12 months.”
  • Standard Chartered has cut its outlook, now targeting roughly $150,000 in 2026.

Also Read: Bitcoin Rejected At $90,000 As Ethereum, XRP, Dogecoin Tread Water

Moderate Or Range-Bound Views

VanEck and Barclays see 2026 as a consolidation or transitional year, with Bitcoin digesting prior gains amid weak retail participation and limited near-term catalysts.

VanEck predicts that Bitcoin in 2026 is more likely to enter a “consolidation” phase — neither an explosive rally nor a crash, but rather range-bound movement that digests prior volatility.

Barclays noted that the crypto market in 2026 could be flat or even skew weaker, with trading activity and investor enthusiasm struggling to rebound meaningfully.

Bearish Downside Scenarios

  • CryptoQuant points to slowing institutional demand and and falling risk appetite in derivatives markets for its targets between $70,000 and $56,000.
  • If Bitcoin were to draw down around 80% from an all-time high, it could fall toward roughly $25,000, Peter Brandt warns.
  • Bloomberg’s Mike McGlone offers the most bearish perspective, warning Bitcoin could fall toward $10,000 under deflationary macro conditions.

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