The end of Bitcoin’s growth era: Why prominent investors doubt its future

​Bitcoin has repeatedly defied its skeptics, recovering from major crashes to set new price records. Yet its latest downturn has revived an old debate about whether the cryptocurrency's growth can continue. Some prominent investors believe Bitcoin has already seen its best days, but how convincing are their arguments?

Jason Calacanis bets against another Bitcoin record

Venture capitalist and early Uber investor Jason Calacanis has made one of the boldest predictions about Bitcoin's future. On October 27, he forecast a decline to $57,000 within 12 months and argued that the cryptocurrency would never reach another all-time high. His reasoning goes beyond the latest price correction: he believes investors are losing interest in Bitcoin as more attractive opportunities emerge.

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Artificial intelligence is central to his argument. Calacanis sees greater economic potential in AI than in Bitcoin, which he considers a network offering little beyond its function as a store of value. Interestingly, he has disclosed holding TAO, the token associated with Bittensor, a decentralized AI network. His position is therefore not a rejection of cryptocurrencies altogether, but a bet that capital will increasingly favor technologies with broader applications.

The timing makes his prediction particularly striking. Bitcoin has suffered a prolonged downturn since its October 2025 peak, but the cryptocurrency has recovered from severe losses before. Calacanis believes this time will be different, largely because investors now have more compelling alternatives.

Peter Schiff has made similar predictions before

Economist and gold advocate Peter Schiff has spent years warning that Bitcoin is a speculative asset with little underlying value. During the latest downturn, he warned that a drop below $80,000 could send Bitcoin toward $75,000, with further losses possible if that level failed to hold. However, his history of unsuccessful price predictions raises questions about how reliably he can assess Bitcoin's long-term prospects.

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In November 2019, Schiff predicted that Bitcoin would never reach $100,000. At the time, the cryptocurrency was trading below $10,000. Five years later, Bitcoin crossed the $100,000 threshold in December 2024, directly contradicting his forecast.

Schiff has remained skeptical, continuing to argue that gold is a more reliable store of wealth. Unlike Bitcoin, he points out, gold has practical uses and a long history of preserving value. His criticism reflects a broader disagreement over whether Bitcoin's scarcity and growing adoption are sufficient to sustain demand over the long term.

Bitcoin's critics are not all making the same argument

Not every prominent Bitcoin skeptic has tried to predict its price. Warren Buffett, for example, has questioned the cryptocurrency's investment value for years. In 2018, he described Bitcoin as "rat poison squared," arguing that an asset without earnings or cash flow relies on buyers expecting someone else to pay more for it.

Bitcoin subsequently rose more than tenfold, but that alone does not disprove Buffett's argument. Unlike Schiff's $100,000 prediction, Buffett's criticism concerns how an asset should be valued. 

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon has taken a similarly skeptical position, calling Bitcoin worthless in 2021 and comparing it to a pet rock in January 2024. Yet the bank's commercial decisions have become more accommodating. In May 2025, Dimon said JPMorgan would allow clients to buy Bitcoin despite his personal doubts.

This creates an interesting contrast between public criticism and institutional behavior. JPMorgan has expanded its involvement in blockchain-based financial services, while traditional financial firms have helped make Bitcoin accessible through regulated investment products. The industry no longer needs every influential banker to believe in Bitcoin for clients to gain exposure to it.

Will Bitcoin reach another all-time high?

Bitcoin's history provides reasons to be cautious about declaring its growth permanently over. After approaching $20,000 in December 2017, it lost more than 80% of its value during 2018 before reaching new highs in 2020. Another major decline followed its November 2021 peak near $69,000. Bitcoin fell to approximately $15,500 in November 2022 amid the collapse of FTX and other crypto industry failures, but surpassed its previous record in March 2024.

The latest downturn began after Bitcoin reached approximately $126,000 on October 6, 2025. By mid-2026, its price had fallen below $60,000, a decline of more than 50%. It subsequently recovered toward $80,000 in late October, but remained roughly 37% below its peak. Returning to $126,000 from that level would require an increase of approximately 58%.

Bitcoin's market has also changed considerably since its earlier crashes. Spot Bitcoin ETFs have given investors access through traditional brokerage accounts, while corporate treasuries and institutional investors have become more significant participants. These developments create additional channels for demand, although they also expose Bitcoin more directly to changes in institutional risk appetite and portfolio allocations.

A new record would not necessarily require another wave of speculative enthusiasm among retail investors. Sustained ETF inflows, broader institutional allocations, or renewed demand for assets with limited supply could help support a recovery. Conversely, prolonged outflows and weak investor confidence could keep Bitcoin below its peak for years. The strongest argument against Calacanis's prediction is not that Bitcoin must rise again, but that declaring a permanent price ceiling may be just as premature as earlier predictions of its demise.