- Bitcoin will take the place of gold in the world economy in the next decade, Bernstein said.
- "We expect Bitcoin to emerge as the new-age premier 'store of value' asset," the firm said.
- Wall Street investors and corporations have increasingly embraced bitcoin as a long-term investment.
Bitcoin just topped $100,000 for the first time ever, and it's a milestone for the crypto that puts is on the path to replacing gold as the top store of value in the world economy, Bernstein said on Thursday.
"Our conviction in Bitcoin is beyond cyclical gyrations," analyst Gautam Chhugani wrote, predicting the coin will reach $200,000 by late 2025.
"We expect Bitcoin to emerge as the new-age premier 'store of value' asset eventually replacing Gold over the next decade and becoming a permanent part of institutional multi-asset allocation and a standard for corporate treasury management."
The prediction came after bitcoin broke through the $100,000 mark on Wednesday. Crypto has surged since Donald Trump's election, with investors gearing up for a more crypto-friendly administration and regulatory environment.
Such optimism has kicked off a wave of buy-and-hold activity across Wall Street, Chhugani noted.
Bitcoin spot ETFs have accumulated around $100 billion since they were launched earlier this year, making the funds the fastest-growing ETFs ever, he said. At the same time, business software firm MicroStrategy has been aggressively pursuing a "bitcoin treasury strategy," holding over $40 billion of the token on its balance sheet, and other firms are following suit.
According to Bernstein, ETFs have boosted bitcoin's "store of value" allure by offering traditional investors a more convenient way to hold the token. Meanwhile, updated guidelines from the Financial Accounting Standards Board will make it easier for corporations to hold bitcoin on their balance sheets, facilitating further adoption.
"We expect a fresh incremental demand from corporate treasuries going forward, with MicroStrategy and several smaller corporates leading Bitcoin treasury demand today," Chhugani wrote.
Bitcoin's evolution to a buy-and-hold, institutional asset class could chip at gold's role in international finance. Traditionally, the yellow metal is held in global reserves due to its finite supply, which boosts its price over time.
But bitcoin is similarly designed and is predestined for a maximum supply of 21 million tokens.
Some on Wall Street even expect Washington to embrace bitcoin's "store of value" attribute, calling for the Trump administration to introduce a national bitcoin reserve. Senator Cynthia Lummis has suggested that the government could buy more bitcoin for this goal by selling Fed-held gold certificates.