Anthony Scaramucci says $100,000 became a "magic number" that pushed long-time bitcoin holders to sell last year, adding to pressure that broke expectations of a market super cycle. SALT CEO John Darsie counters that the shift reflects bitcoin maturing into institutional hands, while Bitwise's Horsley argues the asset's adoption is still early.
Long-time bitcoin holders treated the $100,000 level as their exit point last year, according to Anthony Scaramucci, founder of SkyBridge Capital and chairman of SALT. Speaking at the Wyoming Blockchain Symposium in Jackson Hole, he said the selling added to pressure that pushed the market past expectations of a bitcoin super cycle.
OGs treated $100,000 as their exit signal
Some holders who had waited 10 to 15 years treated $100,000 per coin as their cue to sell, Scaramucci said: According to The Block: "$100,000 per coin as a magic number for them, and they sold". He said some market participants had entered the year expecting a bitcoin super cycle, while others held that the asset remained bound to its historical four-year pattern. As the market hit what he called an inflection point, expectations of increased selling became a self-fulfilling prophecy that fed a cascade of sales, he argued.
Scaramucci also expects blockchain and artificial intelligence to converge further, with AI agents most likely to conduct their transactions over blockchains.
Darsie frames the shift as maturation
John Darsie, CEO of SALT and a partner at SkyBridge, said bitcoin's changing holder base is part of a broader maturation process. Some long-time holders and libertarians are beginning to sell portions of their positions, while institutions, financial advisers, and family offices increasingly add bitcoin to their allocation mix, he said. Darsie argued the shift has contributed to lower volatility and could be healthy if bitcoin continues developing as a store of value.
The proliferation of spot Bitcoin ETFs in the US has created an entirely new category of holder — traditional investors who want bitcoin exposure without touching a private key, according to Crypto Briefing. A broader holder base theoretically reduces the severity of sell-offs, since no single cohort can trigger cascading liquidations the way early whales once could.
Bitwise's Horsley: adoption still early
Not every executive reads the moment the same way. Bitwise CEO Horsley said BlackRock's recent advice that investors allocate 1% to 2% of portfolios to bitcoin shows adoption is still early rather than a sign the asset has matured, U.Today reported. He said that view may be hard to believe given bitcoin's rising demand among large institutions in 2026, but he maintains there is still room for more investors to enter.
Sources: The Block, Crypto Briefing, U.Today
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