Ryan Vanzo, The Motley Fool

Fri, Jun 20, 2025, 8:33 AM5 min read

• Bitcoin continues to gain global credibility.

• But there's another major reason to add to your BTC holdings.

• 10 stocks we like better than Bitcoin ›

The price of Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) is back over $100,000. But many experts believe there's a lot more room to run. One major investor, Arthur Hayes, even thinks that Bitcoin's price will rise above the $1 million mark sometime over the next 3.5 years.

If you've been waiting to invest more money into Bitcoin, there are two reasons why you should make a move before 2026 arrives.

At their core, currencies are not income-producing assets and they contribute nothing beyond their existence as a transaction-settling financial tool. Everyone believes that a U.S. dollar retains value. In return, a dollar bill has value and can be traded in exchange for something else. Of course, the U.S. government does have taxation and military powers with which it can back up the dollar's value. But in reality, the only foundational value a single dollar bill has is the idea that it has value.

The same can be said of Bitcoin. Yes, there is a decentralized consensus mechanism that is novel, plus a growing ecosystem of applications and services that use Bitcoin as a means of exchange. But most of Bitcoin's value comes from the idea that it has value. It's a financial tool that can settle transactions, not really different from the U.S. dollar. This reality has caused many investors to call Bitcoin a bubble. And in many ways, it is. It is an asset whose valuation is determined by social whims. But again, this isn't much different than any other currency. The main difference here is that traditionally, currencies are backed and controlled by nation-states. Bitcoin, meanwhile, is essentially controlled by a predetermined algorithm that dictates its long-term inflation rate, a rate that will ultimately drop to zero.

While there are many rules to currency investing, there is one old adage applicable to Bitcoin at this stage: The longer a currency has been around, the more legitimacy it has. This makes sense on a fundamental level. If a dollar bill has been used as a means of exchange for centuries, it's probably a good bet that its value will be maintained tomorrow, or even 20 years from now. The longer a currency is recognized by the masses, the more it is accepted by the same crowd. It's a very general rule with plenty of exceptions. But in general, it's a helpful framework for thinking about new currencies like Bitcoin.