Bitcoin Could Reach $30 Trillion Like Gold, Bitwise CIO Says

Key Takeaways

• Bitwise’s CIO sees substantial potential gains over a 10-year horizon.
• Hougan compares bitcoin with gold’s rise from roughly $2.5 trillion.
• He identifies investor behavior as bitcoin’s biggest investment risk.

Gold’s Rise Offers a $30 Trillion Bitcoin Comparison

Bitcoin could follow gold into a much larger market as institutional ownership expands, according to Matt Hougan, chief investment officer of Bitwise Asset Management. In an Oct. 9 post on X, he reinforced his comparison between gold and bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) launches while sharing a video clip posted by media outlet Simply Bitcoin.

The remarks contrasted gold’s estimated $2 trillion to $2.5 trillion market capitalization when the first U.S. gold exchange-traded fund (ETF) launched in 2004 with its subsequent expansion to roughly $30 trillion. Hougan put bitcoin’s market value at roughly $2 trillion when its ETFs launched in 2024, suggesting it could follow a similar growth trajectory. The Bitwise investment chief said:

“I think it could easily do what gold did, which is run up to $30 trillion, and that arrives at a pretty nice price target.”

The comparison builds on Hougan’s argument that sustained ETF buying could tighten bitcoin’s available supply over time. Existing holders’ sales initially absorb demand, he noted in January, but continued buying could exhaust willing sellers. Bitcoin was trading at $82,766 at the time of writing.