Since the launch of the first Bitcoin ETF in January 2024, the ecosystem has seen increased participation from institutional investors. However, their participation so far has left little to no impact on Bitcoin’s price.
On Tuesday, Jan. 13, the CIO of Bitwise, Matt Hougan, declared that this will not be the case for long, expressing his belief that Bitcoin’s price will go parabolic in the future.
Will Bitcoin mimic gold's price history?
Backing his claims, Hougan made reference to gold’s notable price rally in 2025, noting that it is an example of how markets respond when sustained institutional demand eventually outweighs supply.
Matt Hougan explained this, noting that central banks began to increase their gold purchases in 2022 after the United States froze Russia’s Treasury reserves.
Following this move, annual gold purchases roughly doubled from about 500 tonnes to around 1,000 tonnes and have continued at that elevated pace since then.
Despite these rising demands from central banks, the price of gold remained stagnant at the time, until about three years later, when it surged massively.
Over the years, gold gained only 2% in 2022, 13% in 2023, and 27% in 2024. Nonetheless, it went parabolic in 2025, skyrocketing by about 65%, as the large-scale demand persisted over a long period.
Hougan further noted that the delay seen before the explosive price action is attributable to the market’s ability to absorb demand.
As seen in gold’s price history, Hougan noted that sustained ETF demand will also drive a parabolic price surge for Bitcoin in the long term, when sellers become exhausted.
Bitcoin ETFs now hold $56.52 billion in cumulative net inflows
According to Hougan, since spot Bitcoin ETFs launched in January 2024, the funds have consistently been purchasing more than 100% of newly mined Bitcoin.
While this means that ETFs alone are absorbing the entire fresh Bitcoin supply, and even more, they now boast a substantial cumulative net inflow of about $56.52 billion as of Jan. 13.
Despite this, Bitcoin has not yet experienced a true parabolic surge because long-term holders have been willing to sell into the demand. He believes that this will only last for a while, as the world’s leading cryptocurrency will go parabolic once sellers become exhausted.
Caroline Amosun
Dan Burgin
Alex Dovbnya