Bitcoin Price Prediction by Wikipedia Co-Founder: $10,000 or Lower for BTC?

Search interest in “Bitcoin zero” has surged in the United States, hitting record levels in February as Bitcoin slid toward $60,000 after peaking in October. Data shows global search interest actually topped out months earlier, suggesting the most recent wave of panic is concentrated largely among U.S. investors.

At the time of writing, Bitcoin was trading near $67,680, attempting to steady itself after weeks of volatility and renewed debate about its long-term future.

Adding to that debate, Jimmy Wales, co-founder of Wikipedia, offered a stark long-range projection. While rejecting the idea that Bitcoin will collapse to zero, Wales said the cryptocurrency could fade to what he described as “hobbyist levels” by 2050, potentially trading below $10,000 in today’s dollars.

Survival Does Not Mean Dominance

Wales acknowledged that Bitcoin’s underlying cryptographic structure is resilient. In his view, the network could theoretically survive indefinitely unless it faced a major cryptographic breakdown or sustained 51% attack. Even then, he noted, it could fork and continue operating.

But durability, he argues, does not guarantee global dominance.

Wales questioned Bitcoin’s track record as both a currency and a reliable store of value, describing it as “speculative at best.” He pushed back against narratives suggesting that institutional adoption, exchange-traded funds or artificial intelligence integration ensure long-term price appreciation.

Using a practical example, he compared sending £10 within the United Kingdom through a traditional bank transfer, typically free and instant, with sending Bitcoin, which can involve spreads, transaction fees and reconversion costs. That friction, he suggested, limits mainstream usability.

Crypto Community Pushes Back

Not everyone agrees with Wales’ assessment.

Some market participants argue that comparing Bitcoin unfavorably to gold oversimplifies its value proposition. They note that much of gold’s valuation stems from its role as a store of value rather than industrial demand. In that sense, Bitcoin’s monetary premium may not be fundamentally different.

Supporters also highlight Bitcoin’s fixed 21 million supply and expanding global network as structural strengths. They point to improvements such as Layer 2 scaling solutions and the Lightning Network as evidence that functionality continues to evolve.

Others argue that even in a worst-case scenario involving protocol changes or forks, the Bitcoin brand and network effect could persist in a modified form rather than collapsing entirely.

A Divided Long-Term Outlook

Wales’ $10,000 scenario implies a steep real-term decline over the next two decades, a forecast that many analysts consider difficult to model without dramatic shifts in global monetary policy or technological displacement.

For now, Bitcoin remains well above that threshold, but the debate underscores a broader question facing digital assets: whether they mature into durable financial infrastructure or retreat into niche communities.