What is Bitcoin (BTC)?

Bitcoin, also known as BTC, was the first-ever cryptocurrency. BTC is valuable, but its market price can fluctuate considerably. Before we can make a Bitcoin price prediction, it's helpful to know how it works.

Bitcoin was created in 2009 based on a white paper published by the mysterious Satoshi Nakamoto. Bitcoin is still the world's largest cryptocurrency by market cap, followed by Ethereum and Ripple. In this article, 'Bitcoin', with a capital 'B', refers to the technology or the currency as a whole; 'bitcoin' and BTC refer to units of the currency.

Bitcoin's key attributes are as follows:

1. Bitcoin is a decentralised digital currency.
2. Transactions are verified on the blockchain.
3. A finite amount of BTC is released into the market through mining.

Bitcoin is a decentralised digital currency outside the control of any central bank or authority. Every bitcoin (the unit) is a secure block of data that can be sent from user to user on the peer-to-peer Bitcoin network without passing through an intermediary.

Transactions are verified by network nodes through advanced cryptography and recorded in a public, distributed ledger called a blockchain. Solving this cryptography requires computers, which is where mining comes in.

Before a bitcoin can be spent, it has to be generated through a process called mining, an activity in which people provide processing power from their computers to the distributed network that generates new blocks of data for the blockchain. As a reward, miners receive several bitcoins. The total amount of possible BTC is limited by design, so they're mined from a finite reserve, just like gold.

Bitcoin (BTC) price analysis

Before we can make a Bitcoin prediction or price forecast, it's crucial to bear in mind Bitcoin's finite reserve. After 21 million bitcoins are generated, no more can be mined.

An analysis of current trends predicts that the last whole bitcoin will be mined in the 2040s, but fractions of coins will still be awarded to miners. Once all bitcoins are mined, the value of the cryptocurrency will depend entirely on supply and demand.

BTC's price history

The price of Bitcoin has seen many changes. In 2010, a single bitcoin was worth less than $0.25. Over time, Bitcoin grew from an obscure tech topic into a mainstream phenomenon as businesses started to take notice.

In November 2017, Bitcoin's price surged to over $11,000 and reached an all-time high of around $20,000 the following month. That price point remained the highest until December 2020, when its price tipped over that to create a new high at just a few dollars higher. Now, Bitcoin's price is currently above $40,000, and those who got into Bitcoin early and held onto it have enjoyed a massive return on their investment.

BTC technical analysis

To make Bitcoin's future value predictions, we need to understand its past changes. We start with a technical analysis from that 2017 price surge to Bitcoin's price today before moving on to future predictions for Bitcoin. For comparison, this is the status of Bitcoin at the time of writing:

Bitcoin price prediction 2017

Bitcoin had a big year in 2017. On 18 December, it reached an all-time high of around $20,000. Because Bitcoin exchanges recorded different prices, there is some discussion about whether the number was just over or just under $20K.

The 2017 Bitcoin price rally is attributed mainly to speculation as the mainstream began to take notice of the cryptocurrency. Investors were rushing to ICOs, which lifted Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies like Ethereum to record high prices. Bitcoin's cryptocurrency market cap dropped by about 33% due to this surge in interest in the broader cryptocurrency market, but the first crypto coin would soon regain its position.

Bitcoin price prediction 2018

After 2017, 2018 was a year of correction. Anyone making a Bitcoin price prediction for December 2018 had to take into account that there would be a backlash after the initial rush to buy Bitcoin.

The cryptocurrency began to attract criticism, and there was discussion about regulation or bans by governments. The bear market drove down the price of Bitcoin in 2018 to $3,200 by mid-December.

Bitcoin price prediction 2019

After spending 2018 getting mauled by the bears, Bitcoin went through a period of recuperation in 2019. The first cryptocurrency regained over 65% of its market share and rose in price until June when it reached its 2019 high of $13,275.

Bitcoin price prediction 2020

The year 2020 will go down in history as one of the worst years for the financial market. After the pandemic hit, the global market was in chaos, and most assets across all classes crashed. While that was understandably distressing, it didn't last long. BTC's price recovered unexpectedly quickly, and by the end of 2020, it was trading higher than it opened the year at $28,990.

Bitcoin price prediction 2021

Following the bullish trend that ended the previous year, Bitcoin continued higher for a couple of days before it peaked at $42,000 before correcting heavily below $30,000. In February, the correction ended, and BTC continued going higher until it reached a new all-time high at $69,000 in November.

Bitcoin price prediction 2022

Many Bitcoin enthusiasts now consider 2022 to be the worst year yet for their favourite cryptocurrency. After the price surge in 2021 that saw Bitcoin reach a new all-time high at $68,789.63, BTC has traded downwards, losing more than 60% of the accumulated gains in 2022 alone.

Bitcoin (BTC) price prediction for 2023, 2024, 2025, 2030 and 2040

In 2020, Bitcoin made headlines all over the world when it took out its all-time high in December. As expected, the $20,000 region acted as resistance, and the price corrected sharply to $17,000 immediately after poking it. At that point, the world was on its toes in anticipation of the next bull run, and it wasn't disappointed. Bitcoin shattered the new resistance and traded rapidly upwards into 2021. In November 2021, Bitcoin created a new all-time high at $69,000.

To get an overview of future predictions for Bitcoin, we'll look at the latest views of the most famous traders, business leaders and authors in the crypto space. 

Tom Lee's Bitcoin price predictions

Tom Lee is a crypto trading expert who worked at JP Morgan before co-founding Fundstrat, where he works as head of research. In a recent interview, he was asked about his thoughts about Bitcoin's price, and it was heavily optimistic, to say the least. Tom predicts that BTC could be worth as much as $50,000 before the end of the year. Here's a statement from him back in 2021:

So, maybe Bitcoin is in that $200,000 range. I mean, I think that's achievable, and I know it sounds fantastical, but it's very useful.

Willy Woo's Bitcoin price predictions

Author and trader Willy Woo claims that Bitcoin is now a mature asset, and he believes BTC's price can reach $100,000 sooner than later. He explains that he doesn't expect the price to consolidate and sell for years as it did after the surges in 2013 and 2017

Max Keiser's Bitcoin price predictions

Broadcaster Max Keiser made a Bitcoin price prediction in his regular financial analysis show, The Keiser Report, on RT. Much like Tim Draper's forecast, Keiser predicted that BTC's value would go up during and after the coronavirus market crisis, and as we saw, Bitcoin's price did exactly that. 

In 2021, Max was asked for his Bitcoin price prediction. He claimed that BTC's price would pump up 40x, and at the time, Bitcoin was trading around $50,000.

I predict — and this is not only the ultimate use case but the ultimate irony — that once people realise that they cannot get gold, they'll start flocking en masse into Bitcoin.

According to Keiser, a run on gold by the rich will leave Bitcoin as the most viable haven for many.

In one interview, Keiser quadrupled his BTC price forecast, claiming that the first cryptocurrency would surge to $400K.

I am officially raising my target for Bitcoin — and I first made this prediction when it was $1. I said this could go to $100,000 — I'm raising my official target for the first time in eight years. I'm raising it to $400,000.

Tone Vays' Bitcoin price predictions

Cryptocurrency trader Tone Vays provides almost daily Bitcoin price predictions on Twitter and isn't afraid to criticise the economic orthodoxy from Forbes and the mainstream media.

Vays has also slammed Tim Draper's predictions as "irresponsible". But Vays' future Bitcoin price predictions are optimistic. He forecasts that Bitcoin could reach $100,000 within the current decade.

Smartereum Bitcoin price prediction for 2023, 2024, 2025, 2030 and 2040

An author at crypto news site Smartereum has suggested that Bitcoin isn't mature enough for traders to claim we've reached a peak. They predicted that Bitcoin would likely hit $500,000 in the next few years but warn that regulations and sentiment may also negatively affect the price.

Trading Beasts Bitcoin price prediction for 2023, 2024, 2025, 2030 and 2040

TradingBeasts specialises in price predictions for digital coins. TradingBeasts predicted that the average price of Bitcoin will dip in 2020, then make an impressive recovery and double by 2023. In 2021, we saw the accuracy of that prediction. Here's what they propose the average Bitcoin price prediction will look like in December of the coming years:

• 2023: $23,537.736
• 2024: $30,271.387
• 2025: $40,464.377
• 2026: $49,791.182

WalletInvestor Bitcoin price prediction for 2023, 2024, 2025, 2030 and 2040

WalletInvestor predicts a far worse outcome in 2023 than in 2022. Their prediction suggests that BTC is a terrible investment option for now, as they expect the price to drop as low as $5000 before the end of the year. 

LongForecast Bitcoin price prediction for 2023, 2024, 2025, 2030 and 2040

The latest BTC price predictions from LongForecast predict that Bitcoin will close the year at $25,453, which is around the current price. Here are predicted price ranges for the following years:

• 2023: $20,047 - $31,153
• 2024: $19,884 - $21,381
• 2025: $12,253 - $36,756

DigitalCoinPrice Bitcoin price prediction for 2022, 2023, 2025, 2030 and 2040

DigitalCoinPrice's forecast for December 2023 ($53,653) is quite reasonable but not unrealistic. Their BTC price prediction for the future remains positive:

• 2023: $53,653.59
• 2024: $62,924.77
• 2027: $111,978.34
• 2030: $254,904.38

Bitcoin (BTC) overall future value predictions

How high can Bitcoin go?

Bitcoin's value fluctuates more often than fiat currency and by much larger amounts. Although you can exchange BTC for goods and services just like other currencies, Bitcoin's potential to hugely increase in value means that many buy Bitcoin as an investment to trade on the market for a higher price than it was purchased for.

This means that Bitcoin can behave more like stocks than currency. No government can manipulate Bitcoin; only the market can determine its price.

BTC price prediction today

At the time of writing, market sentiment is neutral-bearish. Since the price set a new high at $69,000, it has corrected back to around $34,000 and then consolidated between $15,000 and $25,000. Bitcoin is currently trading at around $24,000 and will likely break above the resistance at around $21,000. If the price does break northward, the resistance at around $30,000 is a reasonably conservative destination right now.

Increased adoption of digital currencies and blockchain by central banks and financial institutions will no doubt increase interest in Bitcoin, the first cryptocurrency.

The best way to predict Bitcoin's future price is to familiarise yourself with the cryptocurrency market today. StormGain, the crypto trading platform that offers the most generous bonuses for clients, also has an educational programme to prepare traders with the best information about the crypto market.