The future of Bitcoin: key challenges and opportunities
In its early stages, Bitcoin was viewed more as a technological novelty or ideological manifesto rather than a fully fledged financial system. It had no market price, its value was not obvious, and its use cases seemed limited. Only a few enthusiasts recognized its potential to transform the very nature of money and trust in the economy.
Over time, as the ecosystem evolved and trust grew, Bitcoin transitioned beyond its experimental status and emerged as a multifunctional financial instrument, performing several key roles in the global economy. This became the foundation for the future of Bitcoin:
- Means of payment. According to BTC Map data as of September 2025, the number of companies accepting Bitcoin as payment exceeded 18,000, a nearly threefold increase since the start of 2024.
- A tool for international settlements. According to the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) in 2024, the volume of cross-border Bitcoin transactions exceeded $600 billion, accounting for about 1.5% of the total flow of international payments.
- Reserve asset and store of value. The US, El Salvador, and Bhutan already have their own state crypto reserves, while China, Brazil, Kazakhstan, and Pakistan are considering such a possibility.
Bitcoin has become the dominant cryptocurrency and, by market capitalization, has entered the top ten assets in the world. Many experts refer to it as "digital gold." Bitcoin is likely to play a crucial role in the future global economy. Therefore, it is worthwhile to understand how Bitcoin will develop in the near future.
Bitcoin reserves and regulation
Some countries, such as the US, have already created their own national crypto reserves, which is a positive sign for the future of Bitcoin. In March 2025, US President Donald Trump signed a decree establishing a strategic Bitcoin reserve, marking an important milestone in the mass adoption of cryptocurrency.
The US is the country with the most significant Bitcoin holdings, totaling 198,000 BTC as of July 2025. To strengthen federal financial reserves, diversify government assets, and address national debt, a special bill called the BITCOIN Act was developed — another significant step for the future of Bitcoin.
Under the BITCOIN Act, the US plans to acquire 1 million BTC in the long term, which is about 5% of the total Bitcoin supply.
Meanwhile, several countries remain opposed to establishing national Bitcoin reserves. These include Switzerland, South Korea, Russia, and European Union (EU) member states. Opponents of strategic crypto reserves often cite Bitcoin's high volatility as the main barrier to government adoption and future development.
However, Deutsche Bank analyst and macro strategist Marion Laboure noted that the high volatility of the leading cryptocurrency will not last forever, which will have a positive effect on the future of Bitcoin. As Bitcoin's liquidity grows, its volatility is expected to decrease. According to Laboure, while Bitcoin may remain "highly volatile" in the foreseeable future, it will eventually overcome this issue, just as gold once did.
Despite criticism regarding Bitcoin's volatility, significant progress is being made in cryptocurrency regulation. Regulation benefits the future of Bitcoin by bringing mass adoption of digital assets closer, providing legal protection for investors, and attracting more institutional capital. However, overregulation could become a factor hindering Bitcoin's future.
Regulation also has "stop factors," such as hindering innovation, which negatively affects Bitcoin's future. Launching crypto startups will become significantly more challenging, as teams will need to strictly comply with regulatory requirements, resulting in higher financial costs.
Bitcoin — the gold of the future
Some experts believe that Bitcoin has the potential to become the gold of the 21st century, which is a key scenario for the future of the cryptocurrency. Bitcoin possesses the necessary qualities to protect its holders from rising inflation and negative government actions, such as monetary policy errors.
In the event of economic deterioration and increased instability, demand for "politically independent" digital assets, such as Bitcoin, could surge. A key advantage of Bitcoin, like gold, is its limited supply, which makes the asset highly scarce and drives price spikes when demand rises rapidly.
According to Matthew Sigel, head of research at VanEck, Bitcoin's price could reach $180,000 by the end of 2025. Standard Chartered forecasts that in the future, Bitcoin could grow 2–5 times, reaching $200,000 by the end of 2025 and more than $500,000 by 2028, potentially radically transforming Bitcoin's future.
Technological evolution of Bitcoin
Bitcoin's future will also be shaped by technological development, as its network protocol significantly lags behind leading blockchain platforms such as BNB Chain, Solana, TRON, and Ethereum in terms of network activity.
The reason is Bitcoin's much lower throughput compared to these networks, which affects transaction costs. This occurs due to the prioritization mechanism: when the mempool is full under high network load, users are forced to increase fees to speed up transaction confirmation.
Transaction confirmation in the Bitcoin network takes up to 10 minutes, and the average fee is around $0.50. By comparison, a transaction on the Solana network is confirmed in just a few seconds and costs only a few cents.
However, the Bitcoin ecosystem is not standing still. Developers are working on second-layer solutions and sidechains, such as Lightning Network (LN), Liquid Network, Stacks, and Rootstock, to address these problems. For example, in 2025, the LN network's throughput increased by 85%, enabling over 8 million BTC transactions per month.
Second-layer solutions help reduce the load on the leading Bitcoin network, ultimately increasing transaction speed and lowering costs.
Improved performance, in turn, makes the blockchain more competitive in the industry and attracts new users to the ecosystem. This is especially important for Bitcoin's future, given the many high-performance platforms on the crypto market.
Threats and challenges to Bitcoin's future
Apart from the lack of a robust regulatory framework, one of the key issues preventing mass Bitcoin adoption is environmental concerns related to the high energy consumption of the mining industry.
In terms of electricity consumption, the Bitcoin network surpasses even some small countries, such as Sweden. According to the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index (CBECI), the Bitcoin network consumes 214 TWh, while Sweden consumes only 138 TWh.
Due to the use of "dirty" energy and the growth of the network's hashrate, greenhouse gas emissions and other harmful substances are increasing, posing a threat to Bitcoin's future.
However, experts note that an increasing number of companies are striving to address this problem. For example, major exchanges such as BitMEX, FTX, and Gemini have launched environmental initiatives that offset carbon emissions by investing in reforestation projects, renewable energy development, and energy-efficient technologies.
Analytical data indicate that Bitcoin mining is becoming increasingly eco-friendly, with more than 60% of the energy consumed by Bitcoin now derived from renewable sources, including hydroelectric, wind, and nuclear power. Additionally, major miners such as CleanSpark and BitFarm have fully transitioned to renewable energy sources.