Bitcoin was created as an alternative to depreciating fiat money. In August 2025, its price reached a record of $124,128. Now, market experts and analysts say that by 2030, BTC will be able to reach the $1 million mark. This will be facilitated by the growth of US national debt, rising global inflation, and other factors.
Such forecasts delight most bitcoin holders, as then their dream of parking a luxury Lamborghini in front of their well-kept mansion will become a reality. However, this calculation is based on the current purchasing power of 1 million dollars, but who knows what it will be in 2030.
And here it is not unnecessary to pose several questions to ourselves and experts:
What will be the comparative purchasing power of bitcoin and its equivalent in US dollars?
What will happen to the situation in traditional markets — stock, real estate, and gold? Can we expect a reassessment of these assets and a departure of capital from them?
What will be the socio-economic effect of the possible redistribution of capital, and how will the emergence of 'bitcoin billionaires' reflect on the middle class?
The first to answer the posed questions was Sean Young, the chief analyst at MEXC Research. In his opinion, if BTC indeed reaches a value of $1 million, it will lead to global changes in the world economy that will affect all countries to a greater or lesser extent.
Firstly, the rise in bitcoin's price to such a level will lead to the devaluation of the dollar and euro, to the value of which the absolute majority of prices for goods and services are tied. The devaluation of the dollar will lead to hyperinflation: purchasing power will decrease significantly, and economies will start to stagnate slowly. Naturally, $1 million in 2030, with bitcoin's price rising to such levels, will not be equivalent to $1 million at present. Moreover, the dollar will lose its status as the world's currency, leading to a reshaping of markets and new trade wars.
As for traditional markets, they will also change. If bitcoin rises to $1 million, it will completely cease to be used as a means of payment. It will be used solely as an investment asset, with a large part concentrated in the hands of large investors and funds.
Naturally, this will lead to changes in traditional markets. Gold will cease to be a safe asset and will fully yield this title to bitcoin. Due to the falling value of the dollar, the stocks of companies, especially global ones that earn profits in USD, will also decline. At the same time, the stocks of investment funds and mining companies engaged in bitcoin mining may rise.
As for real estate, property owners will prefer to receive payments from clients in BTC. By the way, this situation could become a trigger for the development of real estate tokenization (RWA) and create a completely new market for real estate investments.
As for the social component, it will also significantly change under the influence of global economic metamorphoses. Firstly, the level of cybercrime related to wallet hacking will significantly increase. Hackers will become more sophisticated, new viruses will be created, and social engineering will reach new levels. To address the issue of rising cybercrime, governments will start to impose stricter requirements on cryptocurrency holders. In fact, there will be a shift from decentralization to complete centralization.
Countries with weak economies and high inflation levels, such as Argentina, Turkey, and a number of African countries, may completely switch to using bitcoin to protect their economies and prevent total default. At the same time, European countries and the USA will have to regulate or integrate bitcoin into the financial system to avoid losing control over capital.
The rise of bitcoin's price to $1 million will create a completely new social layer of young millionaires and billionaires who will be considered the main elites and will set trends in the global economy. Governments will need to put more effort into controlling what is happening.
Lead analyst at Bitget Research Ryan Lee also believes that a million dollars for one bitcoin in five years will not be equivalent in purchasing power to the dollar in 2025. The dollar has inflation, so goods, real estate, and services in 2030 will cost more than in 2025.
Thus, the purchasing power of a million in the future will almost certainly be lower, and different sets of goods can be bought for it.
With inflation at 3-5% per year, a million in 2030 will be equivalent to approximately 780-860 thousand dollars in 2025 prices. Therefore, the nominal value will remain, but the actual value will be lower.
In mid-December 2017, bitcoin reached a peak of around $19,600-$20,000 per coin. The cumulative price increase in the USA from 2017 to 2025 was about 31%, thus bitcoin needed to at least rise in price to $27,000 to maintain the same purchasing power as in 2017 at its peak. However, it has increased in price more significantly, which makes it a suitable asset for preserving value and long-term investments.
The chart of bitcoin's price since its inception and the peak in December 2017. Source: CoinGecko
Mikael Abgaryan, the business development director at EMCD, agrees with the thesis of the inevitable loss of purchasing power of the US dollar. In his opinion, even with moderate inflation of 3-4% over five years, it will depreciate by about 20%. This means that a million dollars in 2025 will no longer be equivalent to a million dollars in 2030.
Bitcoin is structured differently. Its issuance is limited to 21 million coins, and new ones cannot be 'printed'. Unlike fiat currencies with unlimited supply, bitcoin represents a digital asset that is not subject to inflation.
Hence the key conclusion: today, one million dollars can buy about ten bitcoins, but in a few years, considering price growth and continued scarcity, the same amount will only provide access to one coin. Bitcoin is becoming not just a means of saving but a tool for protecting capital from systemic depreciation of the dollar.
Bitcoin at a price of one million dollars will inevitably change the dynamics in the markets. Part of the capital will move from stocks to cryptocurrency, but there will be no crash — the markets will adapt through new instruments, including ETFs and derivatives based on BTC. Real estate will receive a powerful impulse — bitcoin millionaires will start buying housing in prestigious locations, pushing prices up.
Gold will slow down its price growth while maintaining its status as a safe asset, but investor attention will increasingly shift towards digital gold. Unlike physical gold, bitcoin can be stored in cold wallets and owned solely, without intermediaries like funds and exchanges, which can always close and deprive the owner of access to the asset.
If the price of bitcoin reaches one million dollars, it will radically change the socio-economic balance. The middle class will divide: those who accumulated BTC will strengthen their positions, while others will face the depreciation of their fiat savings. A new elite of bitcoin billionaires will emerge, determining the future of investments, real estate, and politics. This will pose a challenge for states, as they will have to develop new models of regulation and taxation in a world where the key asset is beyond the control of central banks.
A million-dollar bitcoin will not be a price record but a marker of the transition to a new financial era. It will change the balance between fiat and digital assets, redistribute capital, and create new social layers. For those holding BTC, it will be a confirmation of financial independence. For others, it will signal the decline in the purchasing power of traditional currencies and the need to adapt to new rules.
CEO of Tehnobit Alexander Peresichan shared an interesting observation on the topic that a middle-class crisis is already developing in the USA due to inflation and expensive housing. From a socio-economic point of view, society is radicalizing: the share of the rich and poor is growing while the middle class is shrinking.
The rise of bitcoin to $1 million may lead to a reassessment and shift of shares in the portfolios of retail investors who seek to preserve and increase their assets. The share of traditional assets will decrease while that of bitcoin will increase, but this is unlikely to deal a strong blow to traditional assets, as in the foreseeable future they will continue to receive the lion's share of investments.
However, there may be a rotation in the stock market, and some investors will move from stocks to cryptocurrencies. But the BTC exchange rate correlates with the situation in the stock market, so investors will simply diversify their portfolios rather than completely move from stocks to cryptocurrencies. This will be more of a rotation within risky assets.
The rise of bitcoin to $1 million may also lead to the emergence of a new middle class, people who gained their initial capital through the growth of the crypto market. A local crypto-bubble may arise in real estate in countries and regions with a high concentration of BTC holders.
IT consultant on digital technologies Roman Nekrasov elaborated on the socio-economic changes with the rise of bitcoin to $1 million. In his opinion, they will be ambiguous.
On the one hand, a new class of wealthy and super-wealthy individuals will emerge, who acquired bitcoins back in the early days of the coin's existence or during periods when it was significantly cheaper than it is now (up until around 2016). This situation will exacerbate wealth inequality: the traditional middle class, which has savings in dollars, euros, or real estate, will find itself under pressure.
On the other hand, there will also be a positive effect — young and technologically savvy individuals will have the chance to get rich quickly, bypassing old financial institutions. As a result, classic instruments like bonds or bank deposits may lose their attractiveness.
