Bitcoin Set to Hit $180K by 2026, Says Ripple CEO Citing Institutional Surge
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse breaks out a bold prediction saying he thinks Bitcoin could go all the way up to 180 grand...
Quick overview
- Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse predicts Bitcoin could reach $180,000 by the end of 2026 due to key regulatory developments in the US.
- He emphasizes that clear regulations will encourage institutional investments, which have been sidelined due to uncertainty.
- Garlinghouse notes that the influx of institutional money is not speculative but a long-term commitment to the Bitcoin market.
- Real-world applications of Bitcoin, such as tokenization and payments, are expected to further drive its value and adoption.
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse breaks out a bold prediction saying he thinks Bitcoin could go all the way up to 180 grand by the end of 2026 – and he puts it down to a few key regulatory developments here in the States. Speaking at Binance’s Blockchain Week, Garlinghouse made it clear that clear rules of the road would mean institutions could finally come in with a chunk of the 2+ billion dollars they’ve had sitting on the sidelines because of all the uncertainty.
That regulatory reform in the US is the main game-changer Garlinghouse expects to see driving the next 12 to 18 months of Bitcoin growth. And analysts point out that clear guidance from regulators makes the market much less risky for people – that’s why you’ll be seeing more and more of the big boys – hedge funds, asset managers, etc. – starting to dip their toes in the water.
Institutional Players Importantly Drive Long-term Growth
It’s becoming increasingly clear that all that money on the sidelines from institutions like BlackRock, Vanguard & Fidelity is now coming in – and they are actively creating their own Bitcoin-focused products & sticking some real cash into them. This is going to be a long-term thing, Garlinghouse says, not just some speculative cycle we saw before.
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse predicts Bitcoin will reach $180,000 by the end of 2026—the long-term logic is strengthening. pic.twitter.com/xqEpO926MG
— Lyra (@Lyra06189) December 3, 2025
The key points here are:
- Asset managers are finally coming into the Bitcoin space.
- More investment products that are specifically geared towards crypto are being developed.
- The money coming in is not short-term or speculative; it’s here to stay.
All this means is that the market becomes more stable, and people can keep Bitcoin on their watch list without worrying about the inevitable price swings.
Cryptos Getting Used in Real Life Is Giving the Market Real Heart
But it’s not just the institutions driving growth, Garlinghouse reckons the value of Bitcoin will also be much higher because of real-world applications like tokenisation, payments & Web3 business infrastructure. He says this is just the beginning & there is a lot more to come – but again, he expects that a lot of this will be driven by how much the rest of the world adopts it.
Other execs were also bullish on Bitcoin’s future. Lily Liu from the Solana Foundation thinks we will see a massive price surge, and even Binance CEO Richard Teng reckons it will all be good from here on in, too – but only if the global economy’s doing alright and money keeps flowing.
Despite getting knocked around a bit in 2025, Bitcoin held up okay, and people say many of the significant gains we have seen recently are just a settling-in period.
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