Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple Labs, has made a bold long-term prediction for Bitcoin, stating that BTC could reach $180,000 by the end of 2026. He shared this outlook during a panel discussion at Binance Blockchain Week, where industry leaders debated the future direction of the crypto market.
Although Garlinghouse did not provide specific technical price models, he emphasized that regulatory clarity in the United States will be the main catalyst driving the next major crypto expansion cycle. In particular, he highlighted the long-delayed CLARITY Act, a proposed U.S. market-structure bill aimed at defining regulatory oversight for digital assets.
> “We’ve been pushing hard for regulatory clarity in crypto broadly through what’s often called the CLARITY Act in the U.S.,” Garlinghouse stated.
“I don’t expect it to pass this year, but I strongly believe that in the first half of next year, we’ll begin to see meaningful progress that unlocks the next wave of growth for the entire industry.”
However, prediction markets appear far more cautious. On Myriad, a forecasting platform operated by Dastan (Decrypt’s parent company), users currently assign only a 25% probability that the U.S. Senate Banking Committee will pass a comprehensive crypto market-structure bill before 2026.
More Conservative Forecasts from Solana and Binance Leaders
Other panelists at the event offered much more conservative price outlooks compared to Garlinghouse’s aggressive target:
Lily Liu, President of the Solana Foundation, stated that she expects Bitcoin to be “above $100,000” by the end of next year, without committing to extreme upside projections.
Richard Teng, CEO of Binance, avoided giving a precise number and merely commented that BTC’s price would be “stronger than current levels.”
Garlinghouse’s ambitious 2026 target also arrives as the deadlines for previous high-profile predictions are approaching.
Tom Lee and Michael Saylor: Still Ultra-Bullish on Bitcoin
Tom Lee, Chairman of BitMine Immersion Technologies, had previously forecast Bitcoin reaching $150,000–$200,000 by the end of this year. However, in late November, he scaled back his expectations, stating that BTC “could” still reach $150,000, but acknowledged rising uncertainty.
Meanwhile, Michael Saylor, Executive Chairman of Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy), has not backed down from his ultra-bullish stance. He continues to forecast:
$150,000 per BTC in the near term
$1 million within the next 4–8 years
$20 million per Bitcoin over the next 20 years
These projections persist despite the market experiencing a historic $19 billion liquidation event in early October, one of the largest in crypto history.
Adding to the long-term bullish narrative, Cathie Wood of ARK Invest recently revised her 2030 Bitcoin price target from $1.5 million down to $1.2 million, citing the rapid growth of stablecoins as a moderating factor in capital rotation.
Current Market Conditions: Recovery, But Still Far from All-Time Highs
Bitcoin and Ethereum posted modest gains this week, reclaiming key psychological levels:
BTC recovered above $90,000
ETH moved back above $3,000
At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading near $92,417, up about 1% over the past week. On Myriad, traders are now closely divided between two near-term scenarios:
A push toward $100,000
Or a deeper correction back toward $69,000
Despite the recent recovery, Bitcoin remains approximately 27% below its all-time high. To reach Garlinghouse’s $180,000 target, BTC would need to:
Rally roughly 95% from current levels
And break decisively above its previous peak by more than $126,000
Such a move would require a powerful combination of:
Institutional capital inflows
ETF demand
Macroeconomic tailwinds
And, most importantly, concrete regulatory clarity in the U.S.
Final Thoughts: Bold Vision or Strategic Optimism?
Garlinghouse’s $180,000 forecast for 2026 positions Ripple’s CEO among the most optimistic Bitcoin bulls in the industry—though not the most extreme. Whether his prediction materializes will depend heavily on how quickly U.S. lawmakers deliver clear crypto regulations and whether institutional adoption continues accelerating at its current pace.
For now, Bitcoin stands at a critical crossroads between regulatory breakthroughs and macro uncertainty.
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