Charles Hoskinson, the founder of Cardano and co-founder of Ethereum, has predicted that Bitcoin could reach a price between $250,000 and $500,000 within the next 12 to 24 months. Speaking during a live streaming on November 26, 2024, Hoskinson attributed this potential increase to governments talking about a strategic Bitcoin reserve and the integration of decentralized finance (DeFi) capabilities into the network.
Why Bitcoin Price Will Reach $500,000
Hoskinson, who started his career in the cryptocurrency space with Bitcoin, expressed renewed excitement about the future of the original cryptocurrency. “The unveiling of this and after looking at the technology and realizing it actually has a path to work has reignited my love for the ecosystem as Bitcoin went from a sleeping giant that never woke up in an innovation coma to an awakened giant,” he declared.
He acknowledged the progress made possible by Bitcoin Taproot upgradewhich, alongside technologies like BitVM and FairGate, enables a level of programmability previously unattainable on the Bitcoin network. These innovations make it possible to create a DeFi layer on Bitcoin.
Hoskinson predicted that DeFi within the Bitcoin ecosystem would surpass all other blockchain ecosystems in the next two to three years. “I am confident that DeFi in the Bitcoin ecosystem will eclipse DeFi in all ecosystems in the cryptocurrency industry within 24 months to 36 months,” he claimed.
He attributed this expected dominance to Bitcoin’s unparalleled size and liquidity, noting: “as good as Ethereum can be and Solana can be and Cardono can be, let’s be intellectually honest about this. Governments are talking about a strategic reserve of Bitcoin and Bitcoin alone is their entry point and maybe in five, ten or fifteen years that dialogue will change.”
The founder of Cardano predicts that this factor will greatly increase the Bitcoin price. “I am confident that Bitcoin will rise to a quarter of a million to half a million dollars within the next 12 to 24 months due to the influx of investment and the high level of interest that has been achieved,” Hoskinson predicted.
Cardano x Bitcoin DeFi
Speaking about the potential impact of Bitcoin’s DeFi space, Hoskinson emphasized the importance of Cardano’s involvement. “One of the big strategic priorities for me in 2025 is to ensure that Cardano is not left out of this story,” he said. He highlighted Cardano’s suitability as a platform for developing hybrid applications that operate on both Bitcoin and Cardano networks.
Hoskinson explained how Cardano could facilitate interoperability with Bitcoin through the use of wrapped BTC tokens on the Cardano blockchain, powered by reliable bridge mechanisms and virtual machines such as BitVM. These bridges would allow Bitcoin holders to participate in DeFi activities on Cardano without giving up custody of their assets or relying on centralized exchanges.
Hoskinson acknowledged the Bitcoin community’s preference to use Bitcoin exclusively and emphasized that all interoperability solutions must align with this ethos. “It is very clear to me that that model should and should include an option where you always pay with your Bitcoin. Other tokens are polluting this story and, quite frankly, will cause the project to fail,” he explained.
Using technologies such as Babel fees, Hoskinson aims to enable users to pay transaction fees in Bitcoin, creating a seamless experience for Bitcoin users working with DeFi on Cardano.
Hoskinson revealed ongoing collaborations with key figures in the space, including Sergio Lerner, known for his work on FairGate, BitVM and BitVMx. He also mentioned the successful test of a Halo 2 authentication on Cardano’s mainnet, an important milestone demonstrating Cardano’s ability to process advanced cryptographic proofs with minimal transaction costs.
“On the Cardano mainnet, we tested our very first Halo 2 authentication thanks to Plutus V3 (…) The transaction fee for this is only 2 ADA for a very large proof,” Hoskinson noted.
Looking ahead, Hoskinson outlined plans to upgrade Cardano’s Lace wallet to support Bitcoin in 2025, improving interoperability and user experience. “The DApp store in Lace will enable this Bitcoin-style DeFi,” he said. He also expressed his intention to work with other Bitcoin ecosystem participants, such as the Ordinals community, to further cooperation.
Hoskinson concluded by reaffirming his commitment to advancing Bitcoin and Cardano interoperability: “We’re just going to get it done. We’re going to figure it out one way or another, and it’s a high priority for us.”
At the time of writing, ADA was trading at $0.9768.
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