For Bitcoin's total market capitalization to reach 20 trillion dollars in the next 5 years, each Bitcoin would be worth the enormous sum of 1 million dollars. A figure that sounds like fantasy, right? Well, some experts believe it is more than possible, and the key to this prediction lies in a powerful idea: Bitcoin is transforming into 'digital gold'.

To understand this bold prediction, we first need to review Bitcoin's journey. Do you remember how it all began? Back in 2009, Bitcoin was born as a pure digital currency. The idea was simple: a person-to-person electronic cash system, built with blockchain technology and powered by an internal algorithm. The main goal was for us to use it to pay for things, as if it were traditional money, but in digital form.

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But let's be honest, that use as a medium of exchange never really took off. When was the last time you paid for something with Bitcoin at the supermarket or the corner café? Precisely for that reason, Bitcoin took time to become 'mainstream' in its early years. Many of its early users employed it for transactions that required anonymity, which gave it an air of 'strangeness' or even 'illegality' for major institutional investors and Wall Street banks. They simply didn’t know what to do with it.

However, the history of Bitcoin is one of constant reinvention. Over time, its spectacular returns (albeit with some years of catastrophic declines, of course) captured attention. Suddenly, it was no longer just a currency for dark payments, but a hyper-volatile and hyper-speculative tech asset, but with astonishing growth potential. Visionary investors and entrepreneurs from Silicon Valley saw the opportunity and began to accumulate Bitcoin at ridiculous valuations. For them, it was a new tech investment opportunity, and thus they valued it.

And now, in 2025, the narrative has changed again. Bitcoin has transformed once more, this time into a unique asset that many are beginning to call 'digital gold'. And this latest metamorphosis could be the key to unlocking its true long-term value.

From 2 to 20 Trillion Dollars?

Let's talk numbers. Right now (or at least in May 2025), Bitcoin has a market capitalization that hovers around 2 trillion dollars. To give you an idea, this is roughly in line with the valuations of the 'Magnificent Seven' tech stocks, whose capitalizations range between 1.5 and 3 trillion dollars. Bitcoin is already playing in the big leagues.

But the prediction goes much further. If the 'digital gold' thesis holds, Bitcoin's market capitalization could skyrocket to the astronomical figure of 20 trillion dollars. Why 20 trillion? Because that is the approximate value of the global gold market (about 22 trillion dollars). The logic is simple: if Bitcoin becomes the ultimate store of value of the digital age, why shouldn't it be worth the same as physical gold?

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If it were to reach that capitalization of 20 trillion dollars, and considering its price of 104,000 dollars at that time, the price of each Bitcoin would skyrocket to approximately 1 million dollars.

Two Key Metrics to Confirm the Transformation

If this 'digital gold' narrative really takes off, the author suggests that we should see two key changes in Bitcoin's behavior:

Decrease in Volatility: Currently, Bitcoin is known for its wild price swings. But if people start to see it as a long-term store of value, a kind of digital 'safe haven', and stop speculating so much with it, its volatility should decrease over time. This would be a clear sign of maturity.

Increase in the Number of Owners/Wallets: If more and more people start to consider Bitcoin as a stable and lasting investment, the number of active users and Bitcoin wallets should grow exponentially. Scaramucci, for example, predicts that Bitcoin will reach one billion users worldwide. Considering that there are currently around 100 million owners and 200 million wallets, this implies an increase of almost 10 times in the number of users. A true explosion!

Is the thesis of digital gold correct? The volatility of Bitcoin and the growth of active wallets. If we really see a decrease in volatility combined with an explosion of new accounts, that would confirm Bitcoin's status as a unique and independent asset. And, according to this thesis, it would be then that we could see that target price of 1 million dollars. The idea is that widespread adoption by one billion people would solidify its value in a way that we can only imagine today.

Now, friends, it is essential to keep a cool head and lay out the counterpoints to this very optimistic view. Because while the 'digital gold' narrative is seductive, and Bitcoin's journey has been astounding, we cannot ignore that this asset, by its very nature, remains highly speculative.

Moreover, let's be honest: it's not easy. Reaching a 2 trillion dollar capitalization took Bitcoin more than a decade. Jumping from 2 to 20 trillion in just five years, that is, multiplying its current value by ten, is not 'three pennies'. It's a gigantic figure that demands sustained exponential growth, something that, while not impossible in the crypto world, is extraordinarily challenging and unprecedented in such a short timeframe.