Bitcoin (BTC) has provoked intense debate ever since the first block was mined back in 2009. The early years were filled with people suggesting that its value was going to drop back to zero, so why are we now seeing so many predictions of the digital currency reaching $1 million? 

Growing Institutional Adoption

The recent Bitcoin Asia conference saw predictions that Bitcoin is going to reach $1 million within several years. At the time of writing, the coin’s price is just over $100,000, so it’s a bold claim right now.

Institutional adoption is the main reason given for this expected surge in its price, which began in January 2024, when Bitcoin spot ETFs were allowed for the first time. BTC currently has a market cap of just over $2 trillion, with some estimates suggesting that if it reaches the sort of level of institutional adoption that gold has achieved, this could add up to $3 trillion more.

Institutions are increasingly seeing BTC as a useful hedge against inflation and fiat currency debasement. In 2025, the amount of new coins mined hasn’t been enough to keep up with demand. Selling pressure from long-term holders taking profits has stopped the price from increasing, but some analysts believe it is only a matter of time before the amount of BTC to be sold runs out, and the price increases as a result.      

Use by the Public

One of the most interesting aspects of BTC is that its success in the first few years came out of the blue. While a small group of people understood right away what it offered, the vast majority of the public either ignored it or were sceptical about it. However, the currency has now reached a level of public acceptance that has played a huge role in its price climbing.   

In fact, Bitcoin’s original use case was as a peer-to-peer type of currency that could be sent anywhere in the world instantly and securely. The emergence of crypto ATMs and cards has helped create new ways of using this token, but the idea of sending money directly from one wallet to another remains the most popular way of using Bitcoin.

This Bitcoin casino Canada website includes a lot of the most popular gambling games, such as slots, blackjack, and roulette. Their gameplay is very similar to the traditional way of playing, but the process for adding funds by sending BTC directly to the casino’s wallet is a modern alternative that has helped add to the security of online gambling by cutting out the need for a third party to handle the banking side of things.

Bitcoin isn’t the only cryptocurrency that can be used in this way. Other tokens like Tron (TRX), Ethereum (ETH), and Litecoin (LTC) can all be used for the same purpose. However, the reputation that BTC has earned as the leading currency means that it continues to attract more attention. The introduction of live dealer games has added a new way of playing that lets players use Bitcoin to gamble on a variety of games that have an authentic casino atmosphere and a human dealer.

This Plinko promotion lets us see another way of gambling that can be carried out using Bitcoin, with a type of gameplay that’s similar to the Japanese game called Pachinko.

The Role of Scarcity

As the role of Bitcoin has grown in the financial world, its programmed scarcity has become one of the major talking points. No more than 21 million coins can ever exist, with several million of them already believed to be lost forever.

To add to this, the halving process is carried out roughly every four years, making each Bitcoin twice as difficult to mine. Unlike other scarce assets, we know at any given time exactly how many BTC have been mined and how many are still waiting to be mined. Each Bitcoin is made up of 100 million Satoshis, meaning that the currency is divisible enough to be made available to everyone who wants some, at the right price.

Comparing Bitcoin to Gold

We mentioned gold earlier, and it’s easy to see why people have constantly compared Bitcoin to the precious metal throughout its history. They’re both scarce and provide a way of protecting money from the inflationary pressure.

Gold has a market cap of over $28 trillion. So, if Bitcoin had the same market cap, each coin would be worth way more than $1 million. If BTC were to replace gold as the main store of value in the world – or somehow run alongside it on a level playing field – it would reach the $1 million people are predicting.

None of this confirms that Bitcoin will ever reach $1 million, but it lets us see why some people think that it will, and what they’ve based their ideas on.