Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse Expects Bitcoin to Hit $180K Next Year

Bitcoin will be trading at $180,000 by the end of 2026—at least, that’s what Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse predicted onstage at Binance Blockchain Week on a panel about crypto’s future.

Though he didn’t provide specific reasons for the prediction, the Ripple frontman shared that continued regulatory progress in the United States will be a catalyst for the entire crypto market. He specifically pointed to the stalled market structure bill, called the CLARITY Act.

“We have been championing regulatory clarity for crypto broadly in what is generally called the CLARITY Act in the United States,” said Garlinghouse. While he doesn’t think it will happen this year, “sometime in the first half of next year, we’ll see passage of legislation that will continue to unlock and create more tailwinds for the entire industry.”

Like Garlinghouse, users on Myriad—a prediction market operated by Decrypt’s parent company, Dastan—also believe it’s unlikely that the Senate Banking Committee will approve a crypto market structure bill by 2026, giving odds just 25% in favor of its passage before the year ends.

Garlinghouse’s fellow panelists, Solana Foundation President Lily Liu and Binance CEO Richard Teng, were not as bold as the Ripple executive in making price predictions: Liu said Bitcoin would be “above $100,000” by the end of next year, while Teng added that the price would be “stronger” than it is today.

Garlinghouse’s 2026 prediction comes as the clock dwindles on previously bold year-end predictions from BitMine Immersion Technologies Chairman Tom Lee and Strategy Executive Chairman Michael Saylor.

Lee, who previously foresaw Bitcoin hitting $150,000-$200,000 by year-end, softened his tone at the end of November, instead suggesting that the top crypto asset could “maybe” hit $150,000.

Saylor has stayed true to his $150,000 year-end prediction, even after a record breaking $19 billion was liquidated from the market in early October.

His longer-term predictions have Bitcoin at $1 million per coin in the next four to eight years, and a $20 million Bitcoin price in the next 20 years.

The longer-term outlook is similar to noted tech investor Cathie Wood, who recently cut her 2030 target from $1.5 million per Bitcoin to $1.2 million on account of the rapid growth of stablecoins.

Bitcoin has rebounded over the last week, now up around 1% in that time to change hands at $92,417. Predictors on Myriad have flipped bullish during that time, now overwhelmingly in favor of a jump to $100,000 before any dump to $69,000.

The largest crypto asset by market capitalization is now 27% off its all-time high. It will need to jump around 95% and handily top its current all-time high mark above $126,000 to hit Garlinghouse’s predicted mark.