Most survey respondents expect a new ATH by the end of the year, but estimate that Bitcoin will be priced lower than Wall Street’s forecast.
A new Coingecko survey released on September 16 shows that nearly 87% of Crypto investors believe Bitcoin (BTC) prices will break new highs before the end of this year.
However, more than half of the investors surveyed do not believe that BTC will rise above $150,000 by the end of the year. Of the 2,549 respondents, 40.1% predicted that BTC would reach $125,000-$150,000 by the end of the year, while 13% believe that Bitcoin has already peaked and will not be seeing its highest level ever until next year.
BTC quickly won its all-time high of $124,000 last month.
Another participant expects Bitcoin to reach $151,000 to $175,000 in 2025, but expects just under 20% to be even higher, with prices between $176,000 and $250,000 by the end of the year. Only 8% believe BTC will exceed $250,000 this year.
The survey also showed that even respondents who do not own Bitcoin were primarily anticipating price increases, with nearly 83% of non-holders predicting new highs by the end of the year.
“Their predictions may reflect less convictions due to lack of exposure to Bitcoin, but it is noteworthy that predictions for both non-holder groups still followed a similar distribution compared to Bitcoin holders,” Coingecko wrote in the report.
Wall Street says it’s higher
It is noteworthy that the sentiment of participants on the Coingecko Survey contrasts clearly with recent Wall Street predictions that promoted Crypto’s hype earlier this year.
For example, global asset management company Vaneck predicted in an August report that Bitcoin would reach around $180,000 by the end of the year, while Fundstrat’s Tom Lee predicted in an interview last month that BTC could reach $200,000 to $250,000 by the end of the year.
In a July report, Citi said Bitcoin was around $135,000 in the base scenario and it had climbed $199,000 by the end of the year in an optimistic scenario.
Until last September, Standard Chartered’s head of digital assets research was projected to reach BTC by the end of 2025, regardless of the outcome of the US presidential election.
Crypto Analyst Weight
Julio Moreno, head of research at Crypto Analytics Firm Cryptoquant, told Defiant that BTC’s year-end price targets rely on valuation models, saying “Current metrics could lead to a Bitcoin price increase from 160k to 200k.”
Moreno explained in detail: “The short-term holders are currently the first charter with the top bands at $162K. The MVRV upper price band will be 214k. These upper price bands are hinting at the bottom edge of the maximum price target as they could move higher as price gatherings.”
Shawn Young, chief analyst at MEXC Research, told Defiant that the majority of Coingecko survey respondents clustering between $125,000 and $150,000 is a logical, conservative outlook, echoing past cycle behaviors that often establish a tentative peak before Bitcoin establishes a tentative peak.
Young said the bull case between $180,000 and $250,000 is also “achievable if the rotation of capital from traditional assets is deepened by Q4.” Regarding the bear case, Young explained that it falls on one of two risks: long-term ETF spill streaks or sharp macro shocks that emit liquidity from the risk market.
“My own outlook is between the two. There will be a high-intensity move from $125K to $150,000 by the end of the year. There will be a meaningful opportunity for bullish catalysts to bring us closer to $180,000.
Another Coingecko report from late August says that Bitcoin is breaking the usual post-harving pattern. This means that the prices of major cryptocurrencies may have peaked early. However, analysts should note that if the August ATH does not peak this cycle, BTC could reach the height of the final cycle between late September and late October.