Michael Terpin sees Bitcoin falling to $43,500 before market bottoms

Veteran crypto investor Michael Terpin told Cointelegraph that despite Bitcoin having already lost half its market capitalisation, further losses lie ahead. He predicts a 66% decline from October 2025's all-time high of $126,100, which would place Bitcoin at $43,500—a price last seen in early February 2024.

Terpin, at 68 and widely known as the "Godfather of Crypto," pointed to the absence of true capitulation as evidence the market has not bottomed. "One of the defining hallmarks of the bottom is that it doesn't pop back," he said. He attributed traders' difficulty in timing market cycles to greed, citing the November 2021 cycle top when Bitcoin reached around $69,000 before many expected it to reach $100,000.

Terpin also reflected on macro headwinds affecting the current cycle. He noted that despite expectations for favourable conditions under Donald Trump's presidency following his December 2024 election, tariffs and other factors enabled manipulation in the market. "We've had two cycles in a row now with bad macro," he said, adding that he had previously favoured $85,000 as Bitcoin's sweet spot rather than $100,000.