Draper Sets July Deadline for $250K Bitcoin, Labels 2026 ‘Bonanza Year’

Venture capitalist Tim Draper predicted Bitcoin will hit $250,000 within six months, reiterating a long-standing target he now expects to materialize by mid-2026. In an appearance on the Divot podcast and a subsequent post on X, Draper dismissed short-term volatility, framing 2026 as a “bonanza year” driven by the erosion of U.S. dollar dominance.

Bitcoin currently trades near $91,000, requiring a 175% rally to meet Draper’s July deadline. The billionaire investor argued that the asset is not merely an investment but a successor to fiat currency, outlining a long-term trajectory to $10 million per coin.

“Now I’m calling $250,000 in six months, and all up from there. $1, $2 maybe $10 million before Bitcoin eclipses the use of the dollar. The Bitcoin network keeps growing while the dollar keeps shrinking.”

Conviction via Allocation

Draper’s forecast relies on a supply-shock thesis rather than technical analysis. He cited the end of a “misguided administration” as a catalyst for institutional inflows. His conviction is backed by historical entry points: Draper purchased 30,000 BTC seized from the Silk Road in a 2014 U.S. Marshals auction. He paid approximately $19 million (~$632 per coin), a position now valued at roughly $2.7 billion despite the 2022 market collapse.

The $250,000 target, originally set for 2022, has been pushed forward multiple times. Draper attributed previous misses to heavy-handed regulation, which he claims suppressed adoption cycles. With Bitcoin hovering just under six figures, the market must absorb significant sell-side liquidity to validate the 2.7x multiple Draper anticipates before Q3.