Bitcoin Price Possibilities and Opportunities in the Crypto Market
A few months ago, most crypto market analysts maintained a bullish outlook for Bitcoin and altcoins in Q4. However, a contrarian outcome has been taking place, fueled by outflows from long-term holders. The bearish Bitcoin and altcoin prices in October and the first week of November cast further doubt on bullish prospects.
However, some key market participants remained optimistic, and among them is Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan. Hougan shared some interesting insights during a recent interview. He revealed that he remained optimistic about Bitcoin prospects in Q4, mostly because of the incoming demand from new buyers. The Bitwise CIO noted that the improving regulatory landscape, especially from the CLARITY Act, may contribute to a bullish outcome. Hougan believes that Bitcoin price may surge above $115,000 before the end of the year.
Data revealed that outflows from long-term whale addresses were among the key reasons behind the Q4 downside so far. Moreover, analysts have also been looking at the 4-year Bitcoin cycle with bearish expectations for 2026. This has consequently fueled profit-taking after the impressive upside earlier this year.
Hougan entertained the idea that the crypto market will likely regain a bullish outcome in 2026. He even predicted that Bitcoin could rally as high as $150,000, citing demand from treasury companies as one of the key factors driving the momentum. The Bitwise exec also explored the other side of the Bitcoin price spectrum. He believes that the worst-case scenario for BTC price would be a slide to as low as $75,000.
According to Hougan, Bitcoin would likely extend its dip towards the $75,000 price due to multiple reasons. Among them includes heavy institutional outflows, as well as a broad economic crash. Interestingly, analysts have been increasingly concerned about the likelihood of a crash induced by the AI bubble burst, especially considering just how overbought and overheated the stock market has been lately. A major stock market crash would underscore an overall economic crash, given the prevailing recession risks this year. Such an outcome would also lead to heavy crypto market outflows. Interestingly, institutional outflows were mostly negative in the first week of November.
In the meantime, Bitcoin recently retested support near the $100,000 level, while struggling to push above $104,000. This was indicative of uncertainty as the market struggles to identify its next move.
But just how far could Bitcoin go in the long term? Hougan believes that the king of the cryptocurrencies could rally above $1.3 million by 2035.
Altcoin Market: The Path Forward
The industry veteran also explored the altcoins market, specifically the top altcoins that have the most potential. Hougan listed down Ethereum, Chainlink, Solana, Uniswap, Tron, Ripple, and Ondo among the top chains in his list. Hougan’s picks were mostly based on key narratives that have been playing out this year, such as tokenization, stablecoin platforms, and DeFi. The Bitwise exec believes that the tokenization segment of the market may produce multiple winners. He noted that there was still a lot of uncertainty around which coins could reap the biggest benefits through tokenization.
Crypto Market: Is Solana the Highest Growth Opportunity Among Top Coins?
Solana is one of the top blockchains that achieved robust growth in the last 12 months. This also translated to its native coin, SOL, which delivered robust price action so far this year. SOL was also sitting on a substantial discount from its ATH. Its $161 press time price tag was down by 44% from its January top.
Hougan expressed confidence in SOL’s long term future and even predicted that it could rally by 10X from its current price level. That would put it above $1600.
Hougan’s Solana price prediction was largely based on Solana’s potential to secure a substantial share of the stablecoin and tokenization segments. The Bitwise CEO noted that Solana has the potential to surge to a $1 trillion market cap. He also noted that SOL had more potential upside than its peers because it currently has a significantly lower market cap. Solana was one of the top networks taking advantage of the tokenization and DeFi narratives. Recently launched Solana ETFs have also been fueling more attention and excitement towards SOL. ETF flows, for example, signaled strong institutional interest in their first 10 days after launch.
Assessing the Regulatory Impact on the Crypto Market
2025 has so far been the year that crypto regulation took off, thanks to the Trump administration’s pro-crypto and hands-on approach. However, the Bitwise CIO believes that it could still be a double-edged sword. The crypto market has been waiting for the CLARITY Act, which President Trump promised to greenlight before the end of 2025.
Hougan believes that the CLARITY Act may impair the DeFi segment, if not done right. This would in turn impact the crypto market’s growth pace. Nevertheless, he emphasized that regulatory clarity eliminated a lot of risk this year, and will likely have a net-positive impact on the market.