Bitcoin Never Truly Cleared $100K After Inflation, Galaxy’s Thorn Says
Bitcoin (BTC $87,347.06) may have printed a record high above $126,000 in October, but when adjusted for inflation, it failed to break the $100,000 threshold, according to Galaxy Digital research head Alex Thorn.
In a post on X, Thorn said that converting bitcoin’s price into 2020 dollars shows the cryptocurrency peaked this year at $99,848. The exercise highlights the difference between nominal prices — quoted in current dollars — and real prices, which account for changes in purchasing power over time.
Thorn selected early 2020 as the benchmark because it precedes the Federal Reserve’s pandemic-era stimulus, offering a cleaner baseline for measuring bitcoin’s real value.
The conclusion leaves room for interpretation. Supporters may argue that bitcoin’s advance from the 2022 lows appears less speculative when viewed in real terms, potentially leaving additional upside. Critics, however, may contend that bitcoin’s inflation-adjusted performance undermines its narrative as a hedge against monetary debasement, even as gold — often cited as the alternative — has its own mixed record of beating inflation.
