The US Dollar doesn’t need to collapse for BTC to reach $200K – Bitwise exec

Growing investment in “store-of-value” assets and continued fiat currency devaluation could propel the price of Bitcoin to six figures without the need for the US dollar to collapse, Bitwise chief investment officer Matt Hougan said.

In an Oct. 29 post to X, Hougan addressed a question he’d received from a financial adviser asking whether Bitcoin could reach a value of $200,000 without a US currency collapse.

“When you invest in Bitcoin, you’re actually making two bets at once,” said Hougan in response. Bitcoin (BTC $72,400) will succeed in establishing itself as a “new store-of-value asset,” while governments will continue to “abuse fiat currencies” — something that will naturally result in increased demand for hard assets like BTC.

Hougan said that while the two arguments addressed the original question, they were separate points with potential price outcomes. 

Bitcoin’s total market capitalization of $1.4 trillion is currently around 7%-8% of gold’s $18 trillion market cap, but Hougan said that BTC can “mature” and become worth about half of gold’s total value, making one Bitcoin worth roughly $400,000. 

He added that because governments are currently “abusing” their control over the supply of fiat currencies through money printing, more investors will be inclined to own store-of-value assets. 

If Bitcoin just holds a 7% share relative to gold and demand for Bitcoin alone triples, each BTC would be worth $200,000.

“Importantly, these arguments compound. If Bitcoin matures and the store of value market doubles, you quickly get to seven figures,” he said. 

“I think this is the most likely scenario eventually.”

Source: Matt Hougan 

Demand for more traditional store-of-value assets has risen sharply amid increasing global economic uncertainty and growing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, with gold prices notching a new all-time high of $2,778 per ounce on Oct. 29. 

Additionally, continued dollar devaluation will likely form a core part of the United States’ industrial policy, according to an Oct. 29 report by institutional investor news outlet Financial Sense. 

Related: Paul Tudor Jones says ‘all roads lead to inflation,’ long Bitcoin

In the report, economists Marc Fasteau and Ian Fletcher argued that the US needs a robust industrial policy to compete in the global economy, particularly against China. 

Such a policy “should include support for new technologies, protection against subsidized competition, and a concerted effort in lowering the value of the dollar,” they said. 

Several market commentators have said Bitcoin is poised to reach an all-time high in the coming weeks, after nearing the March ATH during late trading on Tuesday, Oct. 29, when it tapped $73,562, according to CoinGecko data. 

The asset had since retraced slightly and was trading for $72,392 at the time of publication.