There are very few assets capable of delivering exponential returns during an extended period of time. Bitcoin (BTC +2.48%) appears to be one of them.
In April 2013, Bitcoin crossed the $100 price level for the first time. At the end of 2024, it crossed the $100,000 price level. That's a head-spinning 1,000-fold gain in a little more than a decade.
Does Bitcoin still have 10x upside?
Given what has happened during the past five months, it's no surprise that investors are having second thoughts about Bitcoin. After all, Bitcoin is now down more than 40% from its all-time high of $126,000 in October 2025. For the past year, Bitcoin is down a dismal 18%.
Nevertheless, there are plenty of high-profile investors who think that Bitcoin still has 10-fold upside. Heading into 2025, the assumption was that Bitcoin would skyrocket to a price of $1 million by the year 2030. That's the type of gain that we're looking for, given that Bitcoin was trading near the $100,000 price point at the time.
Image source: Getty Images.
Although some investors have scaled back their price assumptions for Bitcoin, they still hold out hope that Bitcoin can hit $1 million within the next five years. Cathie Wood of Ark Invest, for example, recently downgraded her price target from $1.5 million to $1.2 million.
That's why I'm willing to ignore Bitcoin's abysmal performance during the past few months. Bitcoin has always been a boom-or-bust asset, and this is just yet more proof. Every four years, just like clockwork, Bitcoin suffers a major price collapse. It happened in 2014, 2018, and 2022. Now it appears to be happening in 2025-2026.
A new catalyst for Bitcoin
The big question, of course, is whether Bitcoin has any new catalysts to drive it higher during the next five to 10 years. The introduction of new spot Bitcoin exchangee-traded funds (ETFs) in January 2024, for example, resulted in a tsunami of new money from institutional investors flowing into Bitcoin. That's the type of catalyst required for a 10-fold return.
CRYPTO: BTC
Key Data Points
The good news is that Bitcoin might have an even better catalyst: The Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. Launched to much fanfare in March 2025, it has thus far not lived up to the hype, due to the unwillingness of the U.S. government to buy new Bitcoin for the reserve.
But that might change soon. Signals continue to come out of the U.S. Treasury Department suggesting that the government might finally be ready to buy new Bitcoin, if a "budget-neutral" way can be found, meaning no increase in the federal deficit.
How much to allocate to Bitcoin?
In a big-picture view, Bitcoin is fully capable of increasing your net worth by 10 times or even more. The tricky part, though, is how much to allocate to Bitcoin. Obviously, you're not going to go all-in on Bitcoin, and you need to think about how your Bitcoin exposure will affect your overall portfolio composition.
Right now, the suggested allocation to Bitcoin is just 1% to 2%. Anything higher might be too aggressive. That's especially the case if you've already built a substantial nest egg. But even a modest 1% to 2% allocation might be enough to turbocharge your portfolio for years to come.
