Wikipedia Founder Jimmy Wales: Bitcoin Difficult to Become Currency, May Fall Below "This Price" by 2050

People who think that Bitcoin is going to zero are likely mistaken. The design is robust enough that it will continue to exist in perpetuity, barring some currently unforeseen breakdown in cryptography or a surprise 51% attack (even then, a fork would carry on I would imagine).…

— Jimmy Wales (@jimmy_wales) February 25, 2026

Jimmy Wales says that the view that “Bitcoin will go to zero” may not be correct. He states:

Bitcoin’s technical architecture is very resilient. Unless a major cryptographic failure occurs that is currently unforeseen, or it faces a 51% attack, it will continue to exist. Even in extreme scenarios, a fork could allow it to persist.

However, he quickly adds:

Bitcoin could very well fall to a level where only hobbyists are researching and testing it. As a currency and a store of value, it has completely failed. Therefore, it will not become a dominant currency in the future.

Jimmy Wales further predicts that by 2050, Bitcoin’s price could fall below $10,000 (adjusted for today’s purchasing power). With the current trading price around $67,736, this suggests a potential decline of over 80% within the next 24 years.
In Wales’s view, Bitcoin remains a “highly speculative asset,” with almost negligible adoption in AI systems. He also questions the arguments that “institutional money” or “Bitcoin ETFs” will bring long-term stable demand. He further states:

There is currently no sufficient reason to believe that large-scale, sustained buying will occur in the future. Supporters should be prepared for Bitcoin to fall back to levels only accessible to a niche group of participants.

Even in extreme circumstances, such as authoritarian governments restricting capital flows and people seeking cryptocurrencies as an “escape route,” Wales remains skeptical. He believes that Bitcoin’s high entry barrier, volatile prices, and lack of widespread acceptance as legal tender in mainstream economies mean it will not dominate long-term. Instead, he favors gold, silver, jewelry, real estate, and art as long-term safe-haven assets.
In fact, Wales is no stranger to criticizing cryptocurrencies. As early as 2020, he stated that he does not oppose Bitcoin on ideological grounds but has never found a compelling reason to “absolutely need to use it.”
His criticism comes as Bitcoin has recently fallen from its highs, reigniting market doubts. Some community users believe that the “king of cryptocurrencies” has failed to deliver on its original promises over the years. One netizen commented: