Adam Back is putting his name behind a number most investors still consider far-fetched.
The Blockstream CEO, widely credited as one of the earliest contributors to the cryptographic foundations Bitcoin was built on, said he has a standing bet that Bitcoin will reach $1 million before the next halving event in 2028.
Related: Economist who predicted 2008 crash reveals next Bitcoin target
Closer than people think
Back’s reasoning rests on the pace of Bitcoin’s climb through the next major price tier.
“The 500K to $1 million Bitcoin is closer than people think,” he said during an interview with Cointelegraph, framing the move past half a million dollars as the more meaningful threshold to watch rather than the round number of $1 million itself.
His comments place him among a small but vocal group of long-time Bitcoin figures willing to attach specific timelines to historically aggressive price targets.
Why Back’s voice carries weight
Back’s name carries weight in Bitcoin circles.
He is widely credited as one of the earliest cypherpunks, having created Hashcash in 1997 — a proof-of-work system that Satoshi Nakamoto later cited directly in the Bitcoin white paper. He now runs Blockstream, a company building infrastructure around Bitcoin and the Lightning Network.
When Back makes a prediction, it tends to get attention not because he is a trader chasing headlines, but because he has been embedded in Bitcoin’s technical foundations since before it existed as a tradable asset.
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The 2028 halving, which will cut Bitcoin’s new supply issuance in half again, has historically preceded major price cycles in the months that follow. Back’s bet effectively wagers that the next cycle compresses Bitcoin’s path from current levels to seven figures within that window.
A number still far from today’s price
Bitcoin remains well below the $500,000 mark Back referenced as the next meaningful milestone, underscoring how aggressive the prediction is relative to current market conditions.
Whether the bet plays out will depend heavily on factors well beyond halving mechanics alone, regulatory clarity, institutional flows, and the broader macro environment all remain in motion.
For now, Back’s wager adds another data point to an increasingly crowded field of long-term Bitcoin price predictions, made notable mostly by who is making it.
Related: Analyst sends blunt message on Elon Musk’s Bitcoin ties
This story was originally published by TheStreet on Jun 19, 2026, where it first appeared in the MARKETS section. Add TheStreet as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
