- Bitcoin could soar to $500,000 if Trump creates a national reserve, Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan said.
- The US creating a national stockpile will influence other countries to follow suit, he predicted.
- He said he sees bitcoin climbing to $200,000 in the coming year as demand continues to rise.
The establishment of a bitcoin national reserve could vault the price of the cryptocurrency to as high as half a million dollars, the CIO of the largest crypto fund manager in the US predicted.
Matt Hougan, the chief investment officer of Bitwise Asset Management, said he saw bitcoin potentially reaching $500,000 if the US creates a national bitcoin reserve, implying 380% upside from the coin's current price. Hougan told Yahoo! Finance recently that's the US buying bitcoin will drive more countries to purchase the crypto themselves.
"If we do get a bitcoin strategic reserve where the government is buying bitcoin … $200,000 bitcoin is going to be looking quaint. You're going to be looking at $300,000, $400,000, $500,000 bitcoin. It's just too big a story, because governments all around the world are going to have to do it," Hougan said.
Hougan said that he was skeptical when Trump first proposed the idea of creating a national bitcoin stockpile while campaigning. But the idea "hasn't gone away," he noted, pointing to a new crypto bill proposed by Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis, and more leaders within Trump's administration suggesting they were open to the idea of a strategic bitcoin reserve. Trump also hinted at the reserve again last week in an interview at the New York Stock Exchange.
"I still think, you know, maybe it's less than a 50% chance, but it's not zero," he added. "And again, if it happens, or if we start to see it happen in other countries, you're going to see a rip-up in bitcoin that will make 2024 look pretty docile in comparison.
Bitcoin has rallied 55% since the presidential election, and more than 140% this year.
Separate from his outlook related to a bitcoin strategic reserve, Hougan said he saw bitcoin climbing to $200,000 over the next year as investor demand continues to rise.
He saw three "irrepressible" sources of demand for bitcoin, pointing to ETFs, Microstrategy, and governments potentially becoming bitcoin buyers themselves.
"At the end of the day it comes down to supply and demand. There's too much demand, not enough supply, so I think the price goes higher in 2025," he added.
Wall Street is growing increasingly bullish on crypto, especially with Trump's second term in sight. Standard Chartered, the firm that correctly predicted bitcoin's climb to $100,000 this year, is also calling for bitcoin to hit $200,000 by the end of 2025, while other bullish forecasts have the token rising as high as $500,000.