Bitcoin could experience another sharp decline before entering a new recovery phase, according to Swan Bitcoin CEO Cory Klippsten, who believes the cryptocurrency could eventually climb toward $130,000 ahead of the next Bitcoin halving in 2028.
Klippsten said Bitcoin’s market cycle could reach a bottom as early as October, although he acknowledged that historical patterns from previous cycles provide only a limited basis for predicting what happens next.
October Emerges as a Potential Market Bottom
Bitcoin reached a record above $126,000 in October 2025, and Klippsten argues that the cryptocurrency has historically taken roughly a year after a major bull-market peak to establish a cycle low.
Speaking to Cointelegraph, he suggested that October could therefore mark the point at which the current downturn reaches its lowest level.
However, Klippsten cautioned investors against treating previous market cycles as a precise roadmap, noting that Bitcoin’s history contains only a handful of comparable cycles.
Bitcoin Could Fall Below $60,000
Klippsten’s outlook includes the possibility of another significant decline.
He said Bitcoin could fall to approximately $57,000 and potentially as low as $53,000 before staging what he described as a rapid recovery.
If that scenario unfolds, the cryptocurrency could subsequently move toward approximately $130,000 before the scheduled 2028 halving, suggesting a potentially dramatic reversal from the projected market bottom.
Record Long-Term Holdings Could Change the Cycle
The October prediction follows comments Klippsten made earlier in the year concerning Bitcoin’s supply distribution.
He previously pointed to the unusually large amount of Bitcoin held by long-term investors, saying approximately 14.7 million BTC had accumulated in the hands of holders who were not actively trading their coins.
According to Klippsten, that concentration could cause the current market cycle to behave differently from previous downturns and potentially produce a bottom earlier than historical patterns would suggest.
Some Analysts Expect a Bottom Sooner
Not everyone in the market expects Bitcoin to remain under pressure until October.
Markus Thielen, founder of 10x Research, has suggested that the cryptocurrency could establish a bear-market bottom as early as August.
Thielen has pointed to a monthly close above $63,000 as a potential confirmation signal that could cause several of his firm’s market-cycle indicators to turn bullish.
The competing forecasts illustrate the uncertainty surrounding Bitcoin’s current cycle, with analysts watching price levels and market structure for evidence that the downturn is nearing its end.
Klippsten Declares Altcoins ‘Basically Dead’ as Money
Beyond Bitcoin’s price outlook, Klippsten offered a particularly blunt assessment of the broader cryptocurrency market.
He argued that altcoins have largely failed to establish themselves as genuine competitors to Bitcoin as a form of money, describing them as “basically dead” in that role.
Rather than expecting decentralized finance and cryptocurrencies to replace traditional financial institutions, Klippsten believes their longer-term future could involve greater integration with conventional finance.
Hyperliquid Highlighted as a Potential Winner
When asked which altcoins could potentially outperform the wider market, Klippsten pointed to Hyperliquid.
He argued that although the project operates in the cryptocurrency sector and has its own token, its centralized business structure could ultimately lead it toward traditional financial regulation.
Klippsten suggested that Hyperliquid could eventually be treated more like a conventional exchange or financial institution as regulators and traditional financial companies become increasingly involved in the cryptocurrency industry.
Hyperliquid Outpaces Bitcoin This Year
Hyperliquid has nevertheless delivered a significantly stronger performance than Bitcoin over the period highlighted in the analysis.
The HYPE token had gained approximately 130% year-to-date, while Bitcoin had declined about 28% over the same period, according to TradingView data cited in the original report.
Hyperliquid’s underlying platform has also generated substantial activity. Data from DefiLlama showed approximately $5.9 million in revenue over the preceding week, placing it among the industry’s highest-revenue decentralized finance protocols.
Institutional Money Is Reshaping Altcoin Markets
The changing role of institutional investors could further explain why some digital assets are performing dramatically better than others.
Crypto market maker Wintermute argued in a July report that institutional participation has made altcoin rallies increasingly selective.
Rather than capital spreading broadly across hundreds of smaller tokens, liquidity has increasingly concentrated in assets that attract institutional interest. That has weakened activity among the market’s wider group of smaller cryptocurrencies.
Bitcoin’s Next Move Remains Uncertain
Klippsten’s forecast presents investors with a potentially volatile path: another steep Bitcoin decline toward the low-$50,000s followed by a rapid recovery toward $130,000 before the 2028 halving.
Whether Bitcoin follows that trajectory remains uncertain. Other analysts expect the market to bottom sooner, while historical cycles offer only a limited number of examples from which to draw conclusions.
For now, Bitcoin’s ability to hold key price levels and the behavior of long-term holders may provide important clues about whether the cryptocurrency is approaching another major cycle turning point.
