After bitcoin (BTC) hit record highs last year and then underwent a steep correction, industry executives and investors expect 2026 to feature both the potential for a strong rebound and extreme volatility.

In CNBC's annual bitcoin outlook compiled on Jan. 7, market experts put bitcoin's 2026 price range as low as $75,000 and as high as $225,000. Within that range, the central price is expected to stay around $110,000.

According to Coin Metrics, bitcoin set a record high above $126,000 in October 2025, then fell to around $80,000 near year-end. It is now trading about 30 percent below its peak.

The cryptocurrency market rose in 2025 on expectations of an improved U.S. regulatory environment and an influx of institutional investors. At year-end, it suffered a sharp correction as concerns over overvalued tech stocks, worries about an artificial intelligence investment bubble and macroeconomic uncertainty overlapped. Forced liquidations during that process expanded selling pressure.

Alex Thorn, head of research at Galaxy, said bitcoin's 2026 outlook is hard to predict amid multiple factors including high equity valuations, geopolitical uncertainty, shifts in monetary policy and U.S. midterm elections.

Experts point to the shift toward an institution-led market as a key variable. Carol Alexander, a finance professor at the University of Sussex, forecast bitcoin would remain in a high-volatility phase in the $75,000 to $150,000 range in 2026, with a central price around $110,000. She described it as a transition from a retail-investor-led market to an institutional, diversified liquidity structure.

James Butterfill, head of research at CoinShares, predicted a 2026 range of $120,000 to $170,000 and said a more constructive trend could emerge in the second half. He added that a change in the Federal Reserve chair and the 'Clarity Act', a U.S. digital asset regulatory framework, could be key catalysts.

Standard Chartered set a 2026 bitcoin target of $150,000. That is lower than its previous $300,000 forecast. It said large-scale buying by digital asset treasury (DAT) companies that had supported prices in the past would no longer be able to underpin the market. It sees inflows into bitcoin spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) as the key driver of future gains.

Maple Finance CEO Sidney Powell set a target of $175,000, citing rate cuts and broader institutional adoption. He forecast a virtuous cycle could emerge in which selling pressure eases if the bitcoin-collateralised lending market surpasses $100 billion.

Youwei Yang, chief economist at Bit Mining, also put bitcoin's 2026 range at $75,000 to $225,000. He said there was upside potential, but volatility would persist due to macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty.

Experts broadly agree that if conditions such as monetary easing, a weaker dollar and increased liquidity are met, bitcoin could surpass its previous record high again, but the path will not be smooth.