Bernstein Analysts Say Bitcoin Could Hit $1 Million in Explosive Rally Driven by This Factor

$779 billion asset manager AllianceBernstein is now more bullish than ever on Bitcoin’s price performance, saying the asset could top $1 million over the next decade.

In its latest research note, Bernstein noted that the growing adoption by financial institutions will trigger BTC’s explosive rally.

Bitcoin is trading at $63,640 on June 21 at 04:47 a.m. EST after a 2% drop in 24 hours. 

Bernstein Doubles Down on its Bullish Bitcoin Bet

In a Thursday research note, Bernstein analysts noted that the price of the largest cryptocurrency by market cap will hit $500,000 by 2029. After another five years, the price will double again.

The analysts further noted that BTC was in the early stages of an upcoming bull cycle. Once an uptrend is confirmed, the coin will rally to $200,000 by mid-next year.

The recent analysis comes barely a week after Bernstein published another report saying Bitcoin’s price follows a four-year cycle. This cycle started after the Bitcoin halving event in April.

They compared Bitcoin’s current price to what it was trading at in the summer of 2020, shortly after the 2020 halving. BTC was trading around $10,000 at the time before shooting past $60,000 within four years.

If Bitcoin follows this pattern, Bernstein believes the coin will hit $200,000 by 2025. It attributes the cycle to the changing demand-supply dynamics after miner rewards are slashed by half.

Institutional Adoption is the “Trojan Horse” For BTC’s Rally

Bernstein defended its bullish thesis by pointing to the soaring institutional adoption of Bitcoin. The asset manager noted that leading financial firms will continue to invest in spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the coming months.

“We see Bitcoin ETFs as on the cusp of approvals at major wirehouses/large private bank platforms in Q3/Q4. The institutional basis trade looks like the ‘trojan horse’ for adoption, and these investors are evaluating ‘net long’ positions as they get comfortable with the improving ETF liquidity,” the analysts said.

Filings made with US regulators by large financial firms for the first quarter of 2024 showed that financial giants had dipped their toes into Bitcoin through spot ETFs. Bernstein anticipates that the Q3 and Q4 reports will show a similar trend.

Besides the growing institutional adoption of Bitcoin in the US, the same could be seen in Australia. The largest stock exchange in Australia, the Australian Stock Exchange, with a 90% market share, recently listed its first Bitcoin ETF.