Philippe Laffont is one of the most intriguing investment personalities on Wall Street. As co-founder and chief investment officer of Coatue Management -- a hedge fund and venture capital firm focused on growth stocks and technology businesses -- he's been known to make some bold, ambitious forecasts since launching the firm more than two decades ago.
While it's hard to know what the smart money is doing in real time, retail investors can still get a delayed glimpse of what the most sophisticated traders on Wall Street are up to. Thanks to publicly available 13F filings made each quarter with the Securities and Exchange Commission, everyday investors can see which stocks hedge funds bought and sold -- providing a rare window into institutional capital flows.
During the second quarter, Coatue initiated a new position in a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), acquiring 56,508 shares of the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT 1.21%).
Let's dive into what may have motivated Laffont's decision to purchase this Bitcoin ETF, and explore what could propel its price through the stratosphere.
NASDAQ: IBIT
Key Data Points
How Philippe Laffont came to accept Bitcoin
During the summer, Laffont spoke on CNBC's Squawk Box and explained his Bitcoin (BTC 0.96%) thesis thoroughly. At a high level, it sounds as if Laffont was initially hesitant to hop on the Bitcoin train due to the cryptocurrency's abnormal volatility relative to other high-growth assets on the Nasdaq (NASDAQINDEX: ^IXIC) -- a domain where Laffont is far more fluent.
"I wake up every day at 3AM thinking, why am I such an idiot? What have I been waiting for? It just goes up and up"
-- Swan (@Swan) June 25, 2025
– Billionaire investor Philippe Laffont on Bitcoin
When billionaires start losing sleep over not owning Bitcoin, you know we're going higher 🚀 pic.twitter.com/5ARzHCV7j1
What I appreciate, though, is his candid acknowledgement of Bitcoin's rising adoption and acceptance as a mainstream cornerstone of a diversified portfolio. These dynamics prompted Laffont to hone his investment philosophy and biases, ultimately resulting in a purchase of the iShares Bitcoin Trust.
By 2030, Laffont is forecasting Bitcoin's market capitalization to eclipse $5 trillion -- implying nearly 130% upside from its current valuation. Below, I'll dig into what Strategy's Michael Saylor thinks. Spoiler alert: He is much more bullish.
Image source: Getty Images.
Why does Michael Saylor think Bitcoin could rise by nearly 19,000%?
Before I dive into what could fuel Bitcoin's long-term price, it's important to understand who Michael Saylor is and why he matters for this discussion.
Saylor is a technology entrepreneur, best known for co-founding business intelligence and data analytics software company MicroStrategy (now doing business as Strategy). During the past several years, Saylor has become one of the most outspoken voices supporting Bitcoin. In fact, he is so convinced of Bitcoin's potential that he has added the cryptocurrency to Strategy's balance sheet -- essentially augmenting the company's cash position with Bitcoin as part of a broader treasury operation.
Back in June, Saylor proclaimed that he thinks Bitcoin could reach a price of $21 million by 2046. If that were to happen, Bitcoin would rise in value by almost 19,000% from its current prices.
Some of the core themes that could drive Bitcoin's growth in the coming decades include accelerated institutional adoption, broader use of the cryptocurrency as a financial tool at corporations, increased interest from governments exploring strategic Bitcoin reserves, and its natural value proposition as a hedge against inflation.
Is Bitcoin a good investment?
Before you let the fear of missing out (FOMO) determine your decision to buy Bitcoin, take a step back and think about the bigger picture.
Remember, there will ever only be 21 million Bitcoins in existence. Moreover, the year 2046 is currently 21 years away. While this is purely suspicion on my end, I think Saylor might be having some fun with the number 21 as it pertains to his future price target.
If Bitcoin were to actually reach such stratospheric ranges, its market value would be $441 trillion -- about four time the current value of the entire world's gross domestic product. Against that backdrop, smart investors will be more aligned with Laffont's macro views over fantastical price forecasts from Saylor.
My hunch is that Laffont deliberately chose the iShares Bitcoin Trust because, as an ETF, Coatue gains passive exposure to a speculative -- albeit intriguing -- asset without the need to directly purchase any cryptocurrency through an exchange like Coinbase or manage a digital wallet.
Assessing whether Bitcoin is right for you depends on your risk profile. For investors who want to avoid volatility, Bitcoin and the broader crypto landscape probably isn't right for your investment goals.
On the flip side, investors who are seeking exposure to emerging alternative assets might want to consider Bitcoin proxies, such as BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF or crypto-adjacent stocks like Coinbase, Robinhood Markets, or SoFi Technologies.
