Veteran trader Peter Brandt sees bitcoin hitting $250,000, but only after a bottom later this year
Veteran trader Peter Brandt sees bitcoin rallying to $250,000 in 2029, but only after the market finishes a long drawn-out bottoming process that could last into September 2026.
What to know:
- Veteran trader Peter Brandt projects bitcoin could reach $250,000 in late 2029, but only after a prolonged bottoming phase that may last until September or October 2026.
- His outlook is based on bitcoin’s historical four-year halving cycle, in which bull markets typically peak 16 to 18 months after a halving and bottom about a year after the peak.
- Brandt’s view contrasts with analysts who say the bear market ended in February, and he emphasizes he will revise his forecast if bitcoin’s price action diverges from its past cycle patterns.
Historically, bitcoin bull runs have peaked roughly 16 to 18 months after the quadrennial mining reward halving, before sliding into year-long bear markets. New uptrends then tend to begin 12 to 18 months ahead of the next halving.
That pattern held in the most recent cycle, with bitcoin peaking in October 2025, roughly 18 months after the April 2024 halving, which cut the per-block BTC issued as reward to miners to 3.125 from 6.25.
If the cycle holds, the bear market that began then should bottom about a year later, around October 2026 and then a new uptrend should begin that could take top out at $250,000 in late 2029, again roughly 18 months after the April 2028 halving.
“I am not calling for a low until Sep/Oct 2026. It is not necessary for the recent low to be penetrated. We could get a rally and then chop sideways to down. Worst case would be a move back into the lower green banana peel which would be into the 50s, maybe high 40s. Then blast off for $250k and a high in late 2029,” Brandt told CoinDesk in an email.
