Adjusted for inflation, Bitcoin still falls short of $100,000, according to Alex Thorn of Galaxy

Bitcoin Hasn’t Reached $100K When Adjusted for Inflation, Galaxy’s Alex Thorn Says

Bitcoin (BTC $87,347.06) may have traded above $126,000 in October, but its inflation-adjusted value never actually broke the six-figure mark, according to Alex Thorn, global head of research at Galaxy Digital.

“Adjusting Bitcoin’s price for inflation using 2020 dollars, BTC never crossed $100K,” Thorn wrote on X. “It peaked at $99,848 in 2020 dollar terms.”

The distinction highlights nominal versus real prices. Nominal prices reflect Bitcoin’s cost in current dollars at the time, while real prices adjust for inflation, offering a clearer picture of its purchasing power relative to a constant year—2020, just before the Fed’s large-scale COVID-era stimulus.

What This Means for Bulls and Bears

Bulls could see this as evidence that Bitcoin’s climb from 2022 lows wasn’t as extreme as the $126,000 nominal peak suggests, leaving room for further upside.
Bears may argue that Bitcoin’s underperformance in inflation-adjusted terms undermines its credibility as a hedge against dollar printing, pointing to gold as a more reliable store of value—though even gold has faced challenges keeping pace with inflation over recent decades.