Bitcoin topped $23,000 per token on Thursday, having only surpassed the $20,000 milestone for the first time on Wednesday. This is mainly due to numerous global renowned investors, institutions putting their weight behind Bitcoin, say experts. In INR terms, players in India believe the bitcoin price may go upto ₹1 crore in the short term. "In short term, for the year 202 the price range could be between ₹50 lakh- ₹1 crore owing to, the Bitcoin halving and growing global institutional demand," says Sumit Gupta, CEO and co-founder of CoinDCX.

In the next year, with even greater demand from retail, institutions will lead Bitcoin to be positioned as one of the primary investment assets, Gupta believes. He adds, "In the light of mainstream acceptance and recognition of Bitcoin, the price of 1 Bitcoin can be anywhere in the range of "single digit crore" in the next 5 to 10 years’."

The largest cryptocurrency has surged 205% in year to date. On fundamental level, Bitcoin’s growth is largely attributed to how it is designed. "In May 2020, we witnessed third halving, a supply shock event, where the number of daily mined Bitcoin gets cut in half. In the previous two halvings, Bitcoin and overall crypto market cap has risen exponentially, and we are witnessing a start of similar bull trend," says Gupta.

Bitcoin is gaining institutional investmnet as well. Microstrategy has included Bitcoin in their company’s treasuries. Many payment rails like PayPal, Square are integrating cryptocurrencies in their services due to rising demand for cryptocurrencies from retail investors. Recently, Massmutual, an insurance giant, made its way into Bitcoin investments. Additionally, Alan Howard, billionaire hedger fund manager, is among the backers of a new institutional-focused investment firm, called One River Asset Management, that's eyeing an as much as $1 billion allocation to bitcoin.