Bloomberg - Bloomberg News

Ken Doddy

September 10, 2022

In the face of mounting regulatory scrutiny, accelerating inflation, and global geopolitical tensions, Bernstein reiterates his year-end bullish Bitcoin price target of $150,000.

Feb. 9 — Research and brokerage firm Bernstein’s analysts reaffirmed a long-term bullish view on Bitcoin, noting the current pullback is the weakest bear market the asset has ever seen — and doesn’t undermine its broad adoption prospects or investment logic. Led by analyst Gautam Chhugani, the team said in a client report Monday: “We’re in Bitcoin’s weakest bear market on record.” They noted recent price weakness stems from a confidence crisis, not underlying system flaws, and kept their $150,000 end-2026 target for Bitcoin. Bernstein emphasized past Bitcoin downturn catalysts haven’t materialized this time: no major bankruptcies, hidden leverage uncovered, or systemic collapse. Instead, analysts cited strong institutional coordination in the current cycle, including a Bitcoin-friendly U.S. president, spot Bitcoin ETF adoption, growing corporate treasury allocations, and ongoing participation from large asset managers. Addressing Bitcoin’s recent underperformance vs. gold amid macro volatility, Bernstein argued Bitcoin remains a liquidity-sensitive risk asset — not a mature safe-haven. Tight financial conditions and high rates concentrate returns in a handful of asset classes (precious metals, AI-related stocks), while Bitcoin’s ETF infrastructure and corporate funding channels are ready for inflows when liquidity improves. The team also pushed back on claims Bitcoin is losing relevance in an AI-driven economy. They noted that with OpenClaw’s rise, blockchain and programmable wallets fit the emerging “agentized” digital landscape: autonomous software agents need a global, machine-readable financial rail — an area where blockchain outperforms traditional banking (limited by closed APIs and legacy integration hurdles). On quantum computing risks, Bernstein acknowledged future cryptographic threats but said Bitcoin isn’t alone. All critical digital systems face similar challenges and will collectively shift to quantum-resistant standards. The report added Bitcoin’s transparent codebase and deepening involvement from well-funded major stakeholders (like Strategy) let it adapt in lockstep with other financial and government systems.