US 401(k) adoption could push Bitcoin to $200,000 — analysts
Analysts say allowing digital assets in US employer-sponsored retirement plans could funnel billions into crypto markets and lift Bitcoin to fresh highs. André Dragosch, head of European research at Bitwise, told Cointelegraph that even a conservative 1% allocation from the $12.2 trillion defined-contribution market could introduce roughly $122 billion of new capital, supporting a price target of $200,000 for Bitcoin by the end of 2025.
The potential impact of 401(k) inclusion is being framed as possibly larger than January 2024’s approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs, because retirement-plan access would create a recurring, long-term demand pipeline. Dragosch described a 1% allocation as a relatively modest assumption given the scale of US retirement assets.
Progress on retirement-plan access was accelerated after an executive order signed by President Donald Trump on Aug. 7 that opened the door for Americans to access digital assets through their retirement accounts. With that regulatory pathway, plan managers could buy Bitcoin ETFs on behalf of participants, bringing institutional-style flows into crypto via mainstream retirement vehicles.
Corporate treasury activity also continues to shape the market. Recent weeks saw new entrants to corporate Bitcoin holdings, including a Nasdaq-listed healthcare services company that performed a large Bitcoin purchase, underscoring that both corporate treasuries and retirement flows are converging as demand drivers.
Market behaviour remains mixed: some large holders are rotating capital toward Ether, while others are taking leveraged positions. One on-chain transfer moved hundreds of millions of dollars in BTC to a decentralized exchange and was converted into very large ETH positions, illustrating active portfolio management and cross-asset speculation among whales.
The Cointelegraph roundup also covered several unrelated crypto developments. An on-chain probe linked a wallet that profited from a Kanye West-themed token launch to wider token-extraction activity worth millions. Separately, early Bitcoin backer Chamath Palihapitiya filed to raise $250 million via a SPAC aimed at DeFi, AI, energy and defense projects, signalling investor interest in broader blockchain-linked innovation.
In policy and industry moves, stablecoin issuer Tether appointed former White House crypto adviser Bo Hines to a US-focused strategic role as the company expands its presence in the American market. Meanwhile, Ethena Labs reported cumulative protocol revenue passing $500 million as synthetic stablecoins gained traction, with its synthetic dollar supply reaching new highs.
Overall, the article frames the possible inclusion of crypto in US retirement plans as a structural change that could add a steady, large-scale source of demand for Bitcoin — one that, according to some market researchers, has the potential to materially affect prices before the end of 2025.
