A prominent cryptocurrency analyst has stated that Bitcoin "Cannot Avoid" reaching $150,000 — and revealed when this historic milestone could be achieved. The head of research at Copper, Fadi Aboualfa, stated that BTC's recent return to its all-time high is primarily due to institutional investors, with "The Retail Frenzy of Leverage Gradually Fading Away."
He believes that Bitcoin "seems to be ready for another significant price rally" based on a range of key metrics — but argues that, from a data perspective, the world's largest cryptocurrency "is not showing anything outside of normal parameters."
However, Aboualfa believes that the absence of "retail traders looking to trigger, hit the flashy button" means that BTC's price volatility might be a bit different from previous bull markets — and may now follow "a more moderate path."
Earlier this year, Copper released research indicating that Bitcoin will begin to rise excessively in the range of $140,000 to $200,000, which could lead traders to take profits and start to reduce their positions.
And in the context of no regular consumers, trading activity on exchange-traded funds (ETFs) has played a crucial role in driving this cryptocurrency's price up. According to Copper, ETF funds have attracted over 165,000 BTC in the past 100 days — he added:
"For every 10,000 Bitcoin added to the ETF's holdings, the price will increase on average by 1.8%."
Aboualfa stated that maintaining this growth momentum could be very important if Bitcoin wants to sustain a price discovery mode throughout the remainder of 2025.
"If this capital flow continues, even though it may face many challenges in the typically quiet summer months, Bitcoin could surpass the $140,000 mark by September. Following that, there could be a surge to $150,000 by early October."
Copper predicts such a price surge — which would end a 60% gain since January — could indeed cause a "overheating" phenomenon. The speed at which BTC reaches $150,000 will also depend on whether the market can "successfully absorb the resistance levels of $125,000 and $130,000," where "high sell orders" may appear. Aboualfa wrote in his research note:
"Some may argue that this outlook is too cautious. Industry optimists have predicted Bitcoin could reach between $200,000 and $500,000 in this cycle. That could happen, but the path to such highs could be very different."
In his view, the emergence of institutional capital could mean that we are beginning to break away from the traditional four-year boom and bust cycle — paving the way for "less dramatic peaks and less painful troughs."
"From an objective standpoint, that's not bad. A Bitcoin with lower volatility and not consuming too much capital is considered a more attractive investment proposition, especially when compared to relatively stable assets like gold."
This could help explain why retail traders — those continuously chasing massive short-term profits — may no longer see Bitcoin as an attractive proposition.
The Dominance of Bitcoin Is Declining
Bitcoin has remained nearly flat over the past 24 hours and seven days, while smaller cryptocurrencies have surged. Both Ether and XRP have increased by 20% in the past week, while Stellar and Hedera have risen by more than 30%.
The dominance of BTC — that is, its market share across the cryptocurrency market — reached a high of 65% in June. Fast forward to now, it is at risk of dropping below 60% as attention shifts to ETH and other altcoins.
XRP in particular is a notable cryptocurrency. Its value has increased an astonishing 494% in the past 12 months as Ripple's troubles with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) come to a conclusion.
The world's third-largest cryptocurrency is only down 10.7% from its all-time high of $3.84 — a price last recorded in January 2018, or in other words, seven and a half years ago.
Just as Bitcoin reaching $150,000 seems inevitable, one could argue that XRP returning to price discovery mode is only a matter of time. It is very likely that ETFs tracking this altcoin's spot price will be approved this year, potentially leading to billions of dollars in capital flow from savvy investors.
Although ETH ETFs have shown disappointing performance since their launch last summer, XRP's massive gains may be hard for Wall Street to overlook. While nothing is certain yet, all signs point to the beginning — not the end — of a bull market.