Bitcoin Never Crossed $100K When Adjusted for Inflation, Says Galaxy’s Alex Thorn

Bitcoin (BTC $87,347.06) may have topped $126,000 in October, but its inflation-adjusted value never actually reached six figures, according to Alex Thorn, global head of research at Galaxy Digital.

“If you adjust the price of Bitcoin for inflation using 2020 dollars, BTC never crossed $100K,” Thorn wrote on X. “It actually peaked at $99,848 in 2020 dollar terms.”

Thorn’s analysis highlights the difference between nominal and real prices. The nominal price reflects Bitcoin’s value at the time in current dollars, while the real price adjusts for inflation, providing a clearer picture of its purchasing power relative to a constant year—2020 in this case, just before the Fed’s major stimulus response to COVID-19.

Possible Implications

The data could be interpreted differently by bulls and bears:

• Bulls may argue that Bitcoin’s rise from the 2022 lows isn’t as extreme as the $126,000 nominal peak suggests, leaving room for further gains.
• Bears could counter that Bitcoin’s weaker inflation-adjusted performance undermines its reputation as a hedge against dollar printing, pointing instead to gold—though the yellow metal has also struggled to consistently outperform inflation over recent decades.