Experts: 2026 will be a bleak year for Bitcoin, but payment technology will improve.

Bitcoin is forecasted to face many challenges in 2026, as most experts believe it will continue the downward trend that began at the end of 2025.

However, even if prices weaken, pioneers in the field still believe that next year will be a significant milestone for the practical application of Bitcoin. Payment infrastructure is becoming increasingly refined, making the use of BTC as a medium of exchange more convenient and widespread.

According to veteran investor Michael Terpin, Bitcoin’s price could bottom out at around $60,000 in Q4/2026, opening up attractive buying opportunities. He predicts:

“The end of 2026 will be an ideal time to invest, as market fears gradually give way to a strong buying wave in 2028 and 2029, after the next halving that could cause a supply shock.”

Bitcoin is on track to end 2025 at a lower level than at the beginning of the year, breaking the four-year cycle theory that has dominated BTC market analysis over the past decade | Source: Block1 Capital. Terpin also mentioned that Bitcoin still has about a 20% chance of setting a new high before the bear cycle ends, but this probability is decreasing over time.

It is expected that the emergence of a new Chair of the US Federal Reserve (Fed) will help improve macroeconomic conditions by lowering interest rates. However, if the Republican Party does not gain control of both chambers of Congress in the 2026 midterm elections, the legal environment supporting cryptocurrencies will be seriously affected.

2025 was once expected to be a breakout year for Bitcoin prices, with many forecasts predicting BTC would reach between $180,000 and $250,000 by the end of the year. However, the reality shows that BTC could end the year at a price more than $100,000 below its January peak.

Bitcoin price movements in 2025 | Source: CoinMarketCap. Despite the downward trend, payment infrastructure and practical applications of Bitcoin are expected to continue developing strongly in 2026.

Rich Rines, one of the pioneers and a blockchain software developer, commented:

“2025 has made holding and profiting from Bitcoin easier. 2026 will be a significant step forward in making Bitcoin truly convenient for everyday use.”

According to Rines, digital banks specializing in Bitcoin, digital infrastructure companies providing online banking services, along with Bitcoin-backed stablecoins, will promote BTC’s role as a medium of exchange.

Square’s payment company has integrated Bitcoin payments into its point-of-sale system, allowing businesses to accept BTC and automatically convert 1% of sales into Bitcoin if needed.

The Whitepaper of the Bitcoin Lightning Network | Source: Bitcoin Lightning Network. The Lightning Network — a second-layer scaling solution — is helping make BTC payments simpler, faster, and less costly. This system allows opening payment channels between parties, recording only the final balance on the BTC ledger through a single transaction.

Graham Krizek, founder of Lightning Network payment company Voltage, told Cointelegraph that the Lightning Network could account for up to 5% of total stablecoin flows by 2028.