The cryptocurrency community is revisiting a visionary prediction made by Hal Finney, the pioneering cryptographer and early Bitcoin developer, in January 2009. In a post on the cryptography mailing list, Finney theorized that if Bitcoin succeeded globally, its total value could one day equal the total value of all wealth in the world, leading to a price of approximately $10 million per Bitcoin (BTC).
The prediction has gained renewed attention as Bitcoin's price surpassed $100,000 in January 2025, with crypto historian Pete Rizzo recently highlighting Finney's foresight. This resurfacing has sparked widespread discussions and debates, reinforcing a long-term bullish narrative for Bitcoin as a potential global store of value and wealth distribution mechanism.
Analysts are drawing parallels between Finney's 17-year-old forecast and modern projections. Adam Back, CEO of Blockstream, has suggested that with sufficient scaling and sidechains, Bitcoin could reach $10 million by around the sixth halving, estimated for 2032. Other expansive forecasts, like asset manager VanEck's estimate of $2.9 million per BTC by 2050, further underscore the enduring optimism about Bitcoin's long-term trajectory.
While the discourse is shaping market perspectives and community sentiment, the news articles explicitly state that no immediate market movements or price effects are directly linked to this historical reflection. The focus remains squarely on Bitcoin, with no direct implications cited for other cryptocurrencies.
