Michaël van de Poppe Sees Dot-Com Boom Repeat Taking Bitcoin to $1 Million

Crypto analyst Michaël van de Poppe has argued that Bitcoin is capable of reaching $1 million in the current cycle, comparing the setup to the dot-com boom of the late 1990s.

His thesis has caught traders' attention, even though the cryptocurrency remains far beneath its former record.

How the Dot-Com Parallel Works

Writing on October 17, van de Poppe pointed to a chart produced by Rand Group that lines up five prior Bitcoin crash lows on a single trendline. That projection yields a conservative bear target of roughly $197,000 by 2030.

If this projection is true, and we're going to see the big 'https://t.co/QuWOTOTrto' type of run on #Bitcoin and crypto.

The outcome would be that the next big crash is going to be an 80% correction on the markets.

That would mean that #Bitcoin to $1,000,000 is possible within… https://t.co/kD85oqIjQs
— Michaël van de Poppe (@CryptoMichNL) October 17, 2026

The argument draws on historical precedent. Technology stocks in the dot-com era posted explosive gains before a sharp selloff, while the underlying infrastructure kept growing. Van de Poppe sees Bitcoin potentially following that same pattern, with a parabolic climb and then a deep correction.

BeInCrypto data shows Bitcoin changing hands near $81,000 in mid-October 2026, putting its market cap at approximately $1.63 trillion. That price is roughly 36% below the all-time peak of $126,080, which was set on October 6, 2025.

Recent price action has been subdued, with some readings showing barely any movement or slight gains over the past month. Returns over longer horizons, by contrast, are still positive relative to earlier levels. That gap sits at the heart of the debate.

Can Bitcoin Really Reach $1 Million?

Van de Poppe is not the only one making the case. Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan says Bitcoin could get to $1 million by capturing a larger slice of the store-of-value market, which today is led by gold and government bonds.

Mike Novogratz, CEO of Galaxy Digital, has suggested a similar outcome if younger investors and institutions move away from gold toward Bitcoin. A rotation of that kind could drive a roughly 10x gain from current levels.

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong and Arthur Hayes, former CEO of BitMEX, have likewise described $1 million as attainable within this decade. Whether a dot-com-style overshoot actually happens remains uncertain, and past cycles show that explosive gains have frequently been followed by severe corrections.

There are also bearish voices. BeInCrypto noted that Bloomberg Intelligence strategist Mike McGlone has said Bitcoin could fall to $10,000, a projection that runs the other way.

Skeptics counter that these predictions depend on historical patterns repeating themselves, which is far from guaranteed. Investors are advised to set such targets against current prices and the possibility of steep losses.